peculiar people

American  

plural noun

1. the Jews as being God's chosen people. Deuteronomy 14:2.

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.

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peculiar people British  

plural noun

1. (sometimes capitals) a small sect of faith healers founded in London in 1838, having no ministers or external organization

2. the Jews considered as God's elect

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Etymology

Origin of peculiar people

First recorded in 1485–95

Example Sentences

“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

Your glory is that ye are a chosen generation, an holy nation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, your bodies temples of the Holy Ghost, your souls united to the Lord Jesus Christ.

From The Expositor's Bible: The First Book of Samuel by Blaikie, William Garden

I can never forget how eloquently he described the Hindoos, and the Brahmin idolatry, all of which aroused in me an eager longing to visit the wonderful country and learn to know its peculiar people.

From Reminiscences The Story of an Emigrant by Mattson, Hans

I recognised in those abbreviations the patois of a peculiar people, the denizens of the coast of Vera Cruz, and the tierra caliente—the Jarochos.

From The Guerilla Chief And other Tales by Reid, Mayne