definitions

heteroclite

[ het-er-uh-klahyt ]
/ ˈhɛt ər əˌklaɪt /
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adjective Also het·er·o·clit·ic [het-er-uh-klit-ik] /ˌhɛt ər əˈklɪt ɪk/, het·er·o·clit·i·cal.

irregular or abnormal; anomalous.
Grammar. irregular in inflection; having inflected forms belonging to more than one class of stems.

noun

a person or thing that deviates from the ordinary rule or form.
Grammar. a heteroclite word.

RELATED WORDS

anomalous, unnatural, abnormal, strange, odd, peculiar, divergent, unusual, unexpected, irregular, exceptional, atypical, uncommon, extraordinary, weird, aberrant, bizarre, incongruous, straying, bent

Nearby words

heterochromous, heterochronia, heterochrony, heterochthonous, heterocladic anastomosis, heteroclite, heterocrine, heterocyclic, heterocyst, heterocytotropic, heterocytotropic antibody

Origin of heteroclite

1570–80; < Middle French < Late Latin heteroclitus < Greek heteróklitos, equivalent to hetero- hetero- + -klitos, verbid of klī́nein to bend, inflect
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for heteroclite

heteroclite

/ (ˈhɛtərəˌklaɪt) /

adjective Also: heteroclitic (ˌhɛtərəˈklɪtɪk)

(esp of the form of a word) irregular or unusual

noun

an irregularly formed word

Word Origin for heteroclite

C16: from Late Latin heteroclitus declining irregularly, from Greek heteroklitos, from hetero- + klinein to bend, inflect
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012