View synonyms for lusus naturae

lusus naturae

[ loo-suhs nuh-toor-ee, -tyoor-ee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

lusus naturae

/ ˈluːsʊs næˈtʊəriː /

First recorded in 1655–65, lusus naturae is from Latin lūsus nātūrae “a jest of nature”

C17: Latin: whim of nature

If there is in fact no such, he is, in his high attainment, almost a lusus naturae.

The palm tree seems a kind of lusus naturae to the northern eye—an exotic wherever you meet it.

The semblance of a human face to be formed on the side of a mountain, or in the fracture of a small stone, by a lusus naturae.

The gossips all turn from the task of nibbling one another, and the character of the lusus naturae becomes public property.

I may mention here that male kangaroos are sometimes found provided with pouches; but these, I conceive, are lusus Naturae.

April 20, 2024flabbergast

[flab-er-gast ]

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