idiosyncracy

idiosyncracy
\ \ [17] Greek idios meant ‘of a particular person, personal, private, own’.
\ \ Among the words it has contributed to English are idiom [16] (etymologically ‘one’s own particular way of speaking’), idiot, and idiosyncracy. This was a compound formed in Greek with súgkrāsis, itself a compound noun made up of súntogether’ and krāsismixture’ (a relative of English crater). Súgkrāsis originally meant literally ‘mixture’, but it was later used metaphorically for ‘mixture of personal characteristics, temperament’, and so idiosúgkrāsis was ‘one’s own particular mix of traits’.
\ \ Cf.IDIOM, IDIOT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • idiosyncracy — [17] Greek idios meant ‘of a particular person, personal, private, own’. Among the words it has contributed to English are idiom [16] (etymologically ‘one’s own particular way of speaking’), idiot, and idiosyncracy. This was a compound formed in… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • idiosyncracy — n. individual quality, unique characteristic, peculiarity, eccentricity; specific aspect of the physiology of an individual (also idiosyncrasy) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • idiosyncracy — id·i·o·syn·cra·cy …   English syllables

  • idiosyncracy — A peculiarity in the temperament of a person; an element of individuality. See hypersusceptibility …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • idiosyncracy — noun see idiosyncrasy …   Useful english dictionary

  • Anglo-African — Infobox Ethnic group group = Anglo Africans poptime = 2,000,000+ (est.) region1 = flag|South Africa pop1 region2 = flag|Zimbabwe pop2 region3 = flag|Zambia pop3 region4 = flag|Namibia pop4 region5 = flag|Kenya pop5 region6 = flag|Botswana pop6… …   Wikipedia

  • Uprock — or Rocking as it was originally referred to, is an urban dance that is a soulful and competitive street dance and is performed in synchronization to the beats and rhythms of Soul, Rock and Funk music, but was mostly danced to a specific and… …   Wikipedia

  • Lawrence O'Donnell — Infobox Person name = Lawrence O Donnell caption = birth place = Boston, Massachusetts nationality = American field = Journalism work institutions = MSNBC Lawrence Francis O Donnell, Jr. (born November 7, 1955) is an MSNBC political analyst who… …   Wikipedia

  • Frank Legato — is an American author born in 1956 in Pittsburgh, PA. He is best known for his book How to Win Millions Playing Slot Machines...or Lose Trying . He is also well known for founding and editing Casino Gaming magazine and writing a monthly humorous… …   Wikipedia

  • Dreadnaught (heavy metal band) — Infobox musical artist Name = Dreadnaught |200px|thumb Img capt = Img size = Background = group or band Origin = Melbourne, Australia Genre = Thrash metal Hard rock Years active = 1992 Present Label = Dark Carnival/Roadrunner Records Associated… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”