Origin: bef. 900; (n.) ME (northern form of wird), OE wyrd; akin to worth2; (adj.) ME, orig. attributive n. in phrase werde sisters the Fates (popularized as appellation of the witches in Macbeth)
Related forms:
weirdly, adverb
weirdness, noun
Synonyms: 1.unnatural, preternatural. weird,eerie,unearthly,uncanny refer to that which is mysterious and apparently outside natural law. Weird refers to that which is suggestive of the fateful intervention of supernatural influences in human affairs: the weird adventures of a group lost in the jungle. Eerie refers to that which, by suggesting the ghostly, makes one's flesh creep: an eerie moaning from a deserted house. Unearthly refers to that which seems by its nature to belong to another world: an unearthly light that preceded the storm. Uncanny refers to that which is mysterious because of its apparent defiance of the laws established by experience: an uncanny ability to recall numbers.
Of, relating to, or suggestive of the preternatural or supernatural.
Of a strikingly odd or unusual character; strange.
Archaic Of or relating to fate or the Fates.
n.
Fate; destiny.
One's assigned lot or fortune, especially when evil.
often WeirdGreek & Roman Mythology One of the Fates.
tr. & intr.v.
weird·ed, weird·ing, weirds Slang To experience or cause to experience an odd, unusual, and sometimes uneasy sensation. Often used with out.
[Middle English werde, fate, having power to control fate, from Old English wyrd, fate; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.] weird'ly adv., weird'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives refer to what is of a mysteriously strange, usually frightening nature. Weird may suggest the operation of supernatural influences, or merely the odd or unusual: "The person of the house gave a weird little laugh" (Charles Dickens). "There is a weird power in a spoken word" (Joseph Conrad). Something eerie inspires fear or uneasiness and implies a sinister influence: "At nightfall on the marshes, the thing was eerie and fantastic to behold" (Robert Louis Stevenson). Uncanny refers to what is unnatural and peculiarly unsettling: "The queer stumps ... had uncanny shapes, as of monstrous creatures" (John Galsworthy). Something unearthly seems so strange and unnatural as to come from or belong to another world: "He could hear the unearthly scream of some curlew piercing the din" (Henry Kingsley).