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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.
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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. 2023

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
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