peculiar

英 [pɪ'kjuːlɪə] 美[pɪ'kjulɪɚ]

反义词

CET4TEM4IELTS考研TOEFLCET6中低频词常用词汇

比较级: more peculiar;最高级: most peculiar;

peculiar 怪异的，奇怪的

来自拉丁语peculium,私人财产，私人钱财，私人牛羊等，来自pecus,家畜，牛，羊，词源同fee,pecuniary.其原义为私人所有的，个人的，后引申词义与他人不同的，怪异的，奇怪的。词义演变比较idiom,idiot,idiosyncrasy.

peculiar: peculiar: [15] The etymological notion underlying peculiar is of ‘not being shared with others’, of being ‘one’s own alone’. It was borrowed from Latin pecūliāris ‘of private property’, a derivative of pecūlium ‘private property’, which in turn was based on pecus ‘cattle’, hence ‘wealth’ (source also of English pecuniary [16]). (A parallel semantic progression from ‘cattle’ to ‘property’ is shown in English fee.) The development of the adjective’s meaning from ‘belonging to oneself alone’ through ‘individual’ to ‘extraordinary, strange’ took place in Latin. Peculate ‘pilfer, embezzle’ [18] also comes ultimately from Latin pecūlium.
=> pecuniary
peculiar (adj.): mid-15c., "belonging exclusively to one person," from Latin peculiaris "of one's own (property)," from peculium "private property," literally "property in cattle" (in ancient times the most important form of property), from pecu "cattle, flock," related to pecus "cattle" (see pecuniary). Meaning "unusual" is first attested c. 1600 (earlier "distinguished, special," 1580s; for sense development, compare idiom). Related: Peculiarly.

1. Flying at 1,000 ft. he heard a peculiar noise from the rotors.: 在1,000英尺的高度飞行时，他听到旋翼发出一种奇怪的噪音。