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

The Spanish conquerors of Mexico were astonished to find among this peculiar people a number of rites which appeared in many respects analogous to some of those practised by Catholics.

From The Mythologies of Ancient Mexico and Peru by Spence, Lewis

Frenchmen, if not, through all time, from the days of Pharamond to the present, remarkably zealous of good works, are clearly a peculiar people.

From Dealings with the Dead, Volume I (of 2) by School, A Sexton of the Old

In this respect New York differed widely from New England, where religious exclusiveness preserved the English race as a peculiar people until the middle of the nineteenth century.

From Races and Immigrants in America by Commons, John R. (John Rogers)