peculiar

[pi-kyool-yer]

adjective

1. strange; queer; odd.

   peculiar happenings.

   Synonyms: bizarre, eccentric

2. uncommon; unusual.

   the peculiar hobby of stuffing and mounting bats.

   Synonyms: exceptional, singular, extraordinary
   Antonyms: common

3. distinctive in nature or character from others.

4. belonging characteristically (usually followed byto ).

   an expression peculiar to Canadians.

5. belonging exclusively to some person, group, or thing.

   the peculiar properties of a drug.

   Synonyms: unique, special, particular, personal, individual
   Antonyms: common

6. Astronomy.,  designating a star or galaxy with special properties that deviates from others of its spectral type or galaxy class.

noun

1. a property or privilege belonging exclusively or characteristically to a person.

2. British.,  a particular parish or church that is exempted from the jurisdiction of the ordinary or bishop in whose diocese it lies and is governed by another.

3. Also called arbitraries. British Printing.,  peculiars. special characters not generally included in standard type fonts, as phonetic symbols, mathematical symbols, etc.

peculiar

/ pɪˈkjuːlɪə /

adjective

1. strange or unusual; odd

   a peculiar individual

   a peculiar idea

2. distinct from others; special

3. belonging characteristically or exclusively (to)

   peculiar to North America

noun

1. Also called: arbitrary. printing a special sort, esp an accented letter

2. Church of England a church or parish that is exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary in whose diocese it lies

Other Word Forms

• peculiarly adverb
• unpeculiar adjective
• unpeculiarly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of peculiar¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; from Latin pecūliāris “as one's own,” equivalent to pecūli(um) “property” (derivative of pecū “flock, farm animals”; akin to pecus “cattle” ( fee )) + -āris -ar ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of peculiar¹

C15: from Latin pecūliāris concerning private property, from pecūlium, literally: property in cattle, from pecus cattle

Synonym Study

See strange.

Example Sentences

He called it “peculiar” that Loyola Marymount made an about-face after negotiating for months.

From Los Angeles Times

SO: Stanley Kubrick said, “I’ve got a peculiar weakness for criminals and artists, neither takes life as it is. Any tragic story has to be in conflict with things as they are.”

From Los Angeles Times

"We get all sorts of peculiar messages and nasty information... it is incredibly hard to deal with but we are just doing what we can to try and understand what's happened," she said.

From BBC

The mood at Spurs has been peculiar this summer.

From BBC

He said: "A lot of young people play the piano, that's not peculiar at all. But having a young person play the organ... it's really unheard of."

From BBC

Related Words

• curious 
• eccentric 
• extraordinary 
• funny 
• idiosyncratic 
• offbeat 
• outlandish 
• quaint 
• singular 
• strange 
• unconventional 
• unusual 
• wacky 
• weird 
• wonderful