eccentric English · revision 163
5 Oct 2026, 22:09 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ɪkˈsɛntɹɪk/, /ɛkˈsɛntɹɪk/^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
− Recorded from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) originally a term of Ptolemaic astronomy.^(Etymonline) From [[enm|eccentrik|t=orbit not centred on the earth]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline) [[bor|la-med|eccentricus]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|grc|ἔκκεντρος|tr=ékkentros|t=out of the centre]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) from ''ek'' “out of” + ''kéntron'' “centre”.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
+ From [[enm|eccentrik|t=orbit not centred on the earth]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline) [[bor|la-med|eccentricus]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|grc|ἔκκεντρος|tr=ékkentros|t=out of the centre]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) from ''ek'' “out of” + ''kéntron'' “centre”.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
− Of persons, the figurative sense “odd, whimsical” is first recorded in the 1620s,^(Etymonline) and the noun “odd or whimsical person” by 1817.^(Etymonline)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ In Ptolemaic astronomy, a circle or orbit not having the Earth precisely at its centre (early 15th century).^(Etymonline)^(AHD)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ As an adjective the word is recorded from the 1550s, first of circles that do not share a centre.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Of persons, the figurative sense “odd, whimsical” is first recorded in the 1620s,^(Etymonline) and the noun “odd or whimsical person” by 1817.^(Etymonline) In mechanics an ''eccentric'' is a disc mounted off-centre to produce reciprocating motion.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * early 15th century – an orbit not centred on the Earth.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1551 – adjective, of circles, “not concentric”.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1620s – of persons, “odd, whimsical”.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1817 – noun, “an odd or whimsical person”.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1827 – a mechanical eccentric.^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Departing from convention, especially in odd or whimsical ways.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Not having the same centre; not placed centrally.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Of an orbit, deviating from a circle; elliptical.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # An odd or unconventional person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A disc or wheel mounted off-centre to produce back-and-forth motion.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[eccentrically]]
+ * [[eccentrical]]
+ * [[uneccentric]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[central]]
+ * [[centric]]
+ * [[eccentricity]]
+ * [[concentric]]
==References==