peculiar people
Americanplural noun
-
the Jews as being God's chosen people. Deuteronomy 14:2.
-
(usually initial capital letters) a name adopted by certain fundamentalist Christian sects, signifying their refusal to conform to any rule of conduct that is contrary to the letter or spirit of the Bible.
plural noun
-
(sometimes capitals) a small sect of faith healers founded in London in 1838, having no ministers or external organization
-
the Jews considered as God's elect
Etymology
Origin of peculiar people
First recorded in 1485–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It’s only peculiar people like you that I want to impress.”
From BusinessWeek ● Jul. 5, 2011
The problem of the Christian majority, particularly in America," says Niebuhr, "is to come to terms with the stubborn will to live of the Jews as a peculiar people, both religiously and ethnically.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Acadians are a very peculiar people, remarkable for the simplicity of their manners and their fidelity to their employers.
From Forest Life and Forest Trees: comprising winter camp-life among the loggers, and wild-wood adventure. with Descriptions of lumbering operations on the various rivers of Maine and New Brunswick by John S. Springer
And this God of Abraham, the Jews believed, had chosen them to be his peculiar people, to restore Jerusalem and make it the capital of Righteousness in the World.
From A Short History of the World by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Nairn looked at him curiously, and remarking dryly that they were a very peculiar people, rose from his seat, and made it clear that he thought it time for bed.
From The Outspan Tales of South Africa by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
