peculiar people
Americanplural noun
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the Jews as being God's chosen people. Deuteronomy 14:2.
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(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
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(sometimes capitals) a small sect of faith healers founded in London in 1838, having no ministers or external organization
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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
We were a peculiar people, but quite as zealous for good works, as any of our neighbors.
From Dealings with the Dead, Volume I (of 2) by School, A Sexton of the Old
Not only does the name itself imply a personification of that peculiar people, but he is represented as uttering their distinctive doctrines.
From The Eliminator; or, Skeleton Keys to Sacerdotal Secrets by Westbrook, Richard B.
We are told in Titus 2:14, that pilgrims are a peculiar people.
From The Palm Tree Blessing by Shepard, W. E.
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.
