idiosyncratic

Etymology

It is formed from English idiosyncrasy + -ic,^[2][3] on the pattern of pairs such as apostasy and apostatic.^[4] The Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English name Ancient Greek συγκρατικός (sunkratikós, “mixed together”) as the model,^[5][6] and the OED, which revised the entry in 2010, analyses the word as idio- and this Greek adjective, after the noun.^[7] The OED traces the Greek adjective to σύγκρατος (súnkratos, “closely united; later, mixed together”), from σύν (sún, “with, together”) and the stem of κεράννυμι (keránnumi, “to mix”).^[7] The noun came through French idiosyncrasie from Ancient Greek ἰδιοσυγκρασία (idiosunkrasía, “a peculiar temperament”),^[7][2][1] from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own”) and κρᾶσις (krâsis, “mixture, temperament”).^[2][1][8] The longer idiosyncratical is recorded earlier, from the 1640s.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to or characterized by idiosyncrasy; due to a person's own disposition or character: 1754, in Warburton's View of Bolingbroke's Philosophy.^[7] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates it to 1755,^[4] Etymonline to 1756,^[2] and the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English to the late 18th century.^[5][6] The OED notes that earlier use is perhaps implied by the adverb idiosyncratically.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In medicine it describes an individual's unusual reaction, as to a drug, and in general use what is peculiar to one person, often with the suggestion of eccentricity.^[4] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records it as a noun for an idiosyncratic person or thing.^[4]

Timeline

• 1754 – relating to or characterized by idiosyncrasy.^[7] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates it to 1755 and Etymonline to 1756.^[4][2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Peculiar to an individual; distinctive: the poet's idiosyncratic punctuation.^[4][9][7]
2. Of, relating to or resulting from idiosyncrasy, especially an individual's unusual reaction, as to a drug.^[4][7]
3. Marked by idiosyncrasy; eccentric: His taste in music was too idiosyncratic for the radio station.^[4][9]

Word family

• idiosyncratically
• idiosyncratical

Related words

• idiosyncrasy

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins