idiosyncrasy - Definitions from Dictionary.com

5 results for: idiosyncrasy

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

id·i·o·syn·cra·sy

Audio Help [id-ee-uh-sing-kruh-see, -sin-] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -sies.

1.	a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.

2.	the physical constitution peculiar to an individual.

3.	a peculiarity of the physical or the mental constitution, esp. susceptibility toward drugs, food, etc. Compare allergy (def. 1).

Also, idiocrasy.

[Origin: 1595–1605; < Gk idiosynkrāsía, equiv. to idio- idio- + syn- syn- + krâs(is) a blending + -ia -y³

]

—Related forms

id·i·o·syn·crat·ic

Audio Help [id-ee-oh-sin-krat-ik, -sing-] Pronunciation Key, adjective

id·i·o·syn·crat·i·cal·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. peculiarity, quirk. See eccentricity.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
idiosyncrasy

To learn more about idiosyncrasy visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

id·i·o·syn·cra·sy Audio Help (ĭd'ē-ō-sĭng'krə-sē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. id·i·o·syn·cra·sies

A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.
A physiological or temperamental peculiarity.
An unusual individual reaction to food or a drug.

[Greek idiosunkrāsiā : idio-, idio- + sunkrāsis, mixture, temperament (sun-, syn- + krāsis, a mixing; see kerə- in Indo-European roots).]

id'i·o·syn·crat'ic (-sĭn-krāt'ĭk) adj., id'i·o·syn·crat'i·cal·ly adv.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
idiosyncrasy

1604, from Fr. idiosyncrasie, from Gk. idiosynkrasia "a peculiar temperament," from idios "one's own" (see idiom) + synkrasis "temperament, mixture of personal characteristics," from syn "together" + krasis "mixture." Originally in Eng. a medical term meaning "physical constitution of an individual." Mental sense first attested 1665.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

idiosyncrasy
noun
a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Idiosyncrasy

Id`i*o*syn"cra*sy\, n.; pl. Idiosyncrasies. [Gr. ?; ? proper, peculiar + ? a mixing together, fr. ? to mix together; ? with + ? to mix: cf. F. idiosyncrasie. See Idiom, and Crasis.] A peculiarity of physical or mental constitution or temperament; a characteristic belonging to, and distinguishing, an individual; characteristic susceptibility; idiocrasy; eccentricity.

The individual mind . . . takes its tone from the idiosyncrasies of the body. --I. Taylor.

Browse Nearby Entries: