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 socially acceptable options for 20th-century English eccentricity included the roles of public intellectual and political fanatic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The British political system "fosters the eccentricity, the wonderment and the humour of politics", he added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

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

Myllyaho also recognised the value of leaning into Finland's eccentricity, with Käärijä's rave metal anthem Cha Cha Cha becoming the breakout hit of Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool.

From BBC ● May 17, 2026

Theo and Vincent are getting along so much better now, but upon meeting him for the first time, Dries is struck by Vincent's eccentricity, his lack of social graces.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

The garden level holds a media room, guest room, laundry room and a cedar-lined 636-bottle wine cellar carved from one of the home’s original eccentricities: a secret tunnel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

That has something to do with the low-key nature of his work—broadly, he favors the rootsy arrangements of Americana and avoids sonic extremes—as well as the eccentricities of his style.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

"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

Bird's home county Yorkshire, whom he played for and served as president, described him as a "national treasure, known not only for his umpiring excellence but also for his eccentricities and warmth".

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025

Cockcroft was thirty-four, a man with the mild eccentricities that American physicists had come to expect in their cross-oceanic colleagues.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• foible
• idiosyncrasy
• peculiarity
• quirk
• weirdness