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Added 9 October 2026

peculiar

/pɪˈkjuː.li.ə/ adjective

Categories: Describing WordsEveryday Words

Latin root: pecūliāris Wiktionary

adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about peculiar at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. Beyond or deviating from the usual or expected.
    a curious hybrid accent
  2. Unique or specific to a person or thing or category.
    the particular demands of the job
  3. Markedly different from the usual.
    a peculiar hobby of stuffing and mounting bats

Origin

From Latin pecūliāris (“one's own”), from pecūlium (“private property”), from pecus (“cattle”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Related Words: strangeoddunusualsingularspecialparticularfunnyspecificcuriouscharacteristicqueerrummy

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