lusus naturae
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of lusus naturae
First recorded in 1655–65, lusus naturae is from Latin lūsus nātūrae “a jest of nature”
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.
From the loathsome lusus naturae of behemoth horror series to the sprawling cosmopolis of complex management simulators, video games often feature wrenched contortions of the natural world as core tenets in environmental design.
From The Verge ● Feb. 13, 2020
This appeal, which was evidently meant in deep earnest, moved the mind of the young lady with so great astonishment that she looked at Pitt as at a lusus naturae.
From A Red Wallflower by Susan Warner
“My cousins,” she remarked, putting a touch on the cow that stamped that animal a lusus naturae for all time coming.
From The Eagle Cliff by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
The palm tree seems a kind of lusus naturae to the northern eye—an exotic wherever you meet it.
From To Cuba and Back by Richard Henry Dana
His argument was the most triumphant that had ever been brought against the doctrine of lusus naturae, and that of the efficacy of Noah’s flood—doctrines which still held their ground in Guettard’s day.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various
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.
