Trivia Time

What poet wrote, "Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness"?

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eccentricity

American  

[ek-suhn-tris-i-tee, ek-sen-] / ˌɛk sənˈtrɪs ɪ ti, ˌɛk sɛn- /

noun

eccentricities plural

1. an oddity or peculiarity, as of conduct.

   an interesting man, known for his eccentricities.

2. the quality of being eccentric.

   Synonyms:

   aberration, freakishness, oddness, strangeness, queerness

3. the amount by which something is eccentric.

4. Machinery. the distance between the centers of two cylindrical objects one of which surrounds the other, as between an eccentric and the shaft on which it is mounted.

5. Mathematics. a constant expressed as the ratio of the distance from a point on a conic to a focus and the distance from the point to the directrix.

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eccentricity British  

/ ˌɛksɛnˈtrɪsɪtɪ /

noun

1. unconventional or irregular behaviour

2. deviation from a circular path or orbit

3. a measure of the noncircularity of an elliptical orbit, the distance between the foci divided by the length of the major axis

4. geometry a number that expresses the shape of a conic section: the ratio of the distance of a point on the curve from a fixed point (the focus) to the distance of the point from a fixed line (the directrix)

5. the degree of displacement of the geometric centre of a rotating part from the true centre, esp of the axis of rotation of a wheel or shaft

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eccentricity Scientific  

/ ĕk′sĕn-trĭs′ĭ-tē /

1. A measure of the deviation of an elliptical path, especially an orbit, from a perfect circle. It is equal to the ratio of the distance between the foci of the ellipse to the length of the major axis of the ellipse (the distance between the two points farthest apart on the ellipse). Eccentricity ranges from zero (for a perfect circle) to values approaching 1 (highly elongated ellipses).

2. The ratio of the distance of any point on a conic section from a focus to its distance from the corresponding directrix. This ratio is constant for any particular conic section.

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Synonym Usage

Eccentricity, peculiarity, quirk, idiosyncrasy all refer to some noticeable deviation in behavior, style, or manner from what is normal or expected. Eccentricity usually suggests a mildly amusing but harmless characteristic or style: a whimsical eccentricity in choice of clothing. Peculiarity is the most general of these words, referring to almost any perceptible oddity or departure from any norm: the peculiarity of his eyelashes, of the weather. Quirk often refers to a minor, unimportant kind of oddity: Her one quirk was a habit of speaking to strangers in elevators. Sometimes quirk has overtones of strangeness: sexual quirks. Idiosyncrasy refers to a variation in behavior or manner exclusive to or characteristic of a single individual: idiosyncrasies of style that irritated editors but often delighted readers.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• eccentricities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of eccentricity

First recorded in 1545–55; from Medieval Latin eccentricitās, equivalent to eccentric- ( see eccentric) + -itās -ity

Explanation

Eccentricity is strange, out-of-the-ordinary, sometimes weirdly attractive behavior or dress. Sleeping with your boots on is pretty normal if you're a cowboy, but leaving them on for bedtime in your city apartment, that shows some eccentricity. Eccentricity goes back to the Greek ekkentros, meaning "off center," and when you describe people as being a little "off," you might be talking about their eccentricity or behavior that's a bit abnormal. An eccentricity might be some really small character trait, like eating all of the green food on your plate first, or a large and very obvious characteristic, as when you ride a donkey to your suburban school instead of taking the bus.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

eccentricity eccentricities

The strength of these oscillations also varied according to longer 100,000-year orbital cycles connected to changes in Earth's orbital eccentricity.

From Science Daily ● May 27, 2026

Fabled Southern heritage has devolved into crackpot eccentricity, but that only deepens Louise’s adoration for the holdouts who honor it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

Cort resisted roles that leaned too heavily into eccentricity, rejecting a part, to his later regret, in the 1975 Oscar winner “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026

Somewhere between a yearning for motherhood and a woman’s understandable hesitation about it is where the bulk of O’Hara’s onscreen interpretations lived — confidently, outlandishly, and except for Kate, clad in eccentricity.

From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2026

On a farm near the sea, a woman who tended her appearance reaped a reputation for eccentricity.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

"A planet caught in resonance finds its orbit deformed to higher and higher eccentricities, precessing faster and faster while staying in tune with the orbit of the binary, which is shrinking," Touma said.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026

When it was released in June last year, “Materialists” quickly sparked debate among moviegoers for the eccentricities of its screenplay and cast, and the ire of those who felt the film was mismarketed.

From Salon ● Jan. 6, 2026

Besides following Canadian politics in the capital, he focuses on economic and social policy, U.S.-Canada relations and the country’s eccentricities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2025

In it, the audience gets a closer look at the eccentricities that frame his imaginative inner world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2025

I was getting bewildered; he so crowded on my mind his list of nature’s eccentricities and possible impossibilities that my imagination was getting fired.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Related Words

• foible
• idiosyncrasy
• peculiarity
• quirk
• weirdness