idiosyncrasy
/ˌɪdiəʊˈsɪnkɹəˌsi/ih-dee-oh-SIN-kruh-see
/ˌɪdioʊˈsɪnkɹəˌsi/ih-dee-oh-SIN-kruh-see
Meaningone's own blend
Common meaning: a habit or trait peculiar to a person
- idiopersonal, peculiar to oneselfLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 693 · scan
- syncrasa blending together, mixtureSkeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), p. 280 · scan
- ynoun ending: study, state or act
‘personal, peculiar to oneself’ + ‘a blending together, mixture’ → idiosyncrasy
Journey through time
idio Greek ἴδιος “personal, peculiar to oneself”
- Greekidiossource
syncras Greek σύγκρασις “a blending together, mixture”
- Greeksynkrasissource
Parts join in Greek as idiosynkrasia.
- Greekidiosynkrasia‘a peculiar temperament’source
- Englishidiosyncrasy‘a habit or trait peculiar to a person’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek ἴδιος ‘personal, peculiar to oneself’ and Greek σύγκρασις ‘a blending together, mixture’.
Roots
Related words
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