idiosyncrasy

C2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkɹəsi/ UK /ˌɪdɪəʊˈsɪŋkɹəsi/ See IPA manual

Freq #87857

Meanings

1

noun
An unusual habit or feature that is typical of one particular person.

Tapping his pen while thinking was one of his many idiosyncrasies.
2

noun
A distinctive or peculiar feature of something.

He mastered the idiosyncrasies of English spelling.
3

noun
An unusual physical reaction that affects only certain individuals.

A rare idiosyncrasy made her allergic to a normally harmless medicine.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an unusual habit or feature... eccentricity quirk mannerism oddity foible habit

Word family

Forms idiosyncrasies

Derived forms idiosyncraticidiosyncratically

Etymology

First attested in 1604, in modern sense since 1665, from Ancient Greek ἰδιοσυγκρασία (idiosunkrasía, “one’s own temperament”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one’s own”) + σύν (sún, “together”) + κρᾶσις (krâsis, “temperament”). By surface analysis, idio- + syn- + -crasy.

ἰδιοσυγκρασία Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

External links

# idiosyncrasy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkɹəsi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɪdɪəʊˈsɪŋkɹəsi/
**Frequency rank:** 87857

## Meanings
1. An unusual habit or feature that is typical of one particular person.
2. A distinctive or peculiar feature of something.
3. An unusual physical reaction that affects only certain individuals.

## Examples
- Tapping his pen while thinking was one of his many idiosyncrasies.
- He mastered the idiosyncrasies of English spelling.
- A rare idiosyncrasy made her allergic to a normally harmless medicine.

## Derived Forms
- idiosyncratic
- idiosyncratically

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ἰδιοσυγκρασία

## Etymology
First attested in 1604, in modern sense since 1665, from Ancient Greek ἰδιοσυγκρασία (idiosunkrasía, “one’s own temperament”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one’s own”) + σύν (sún, “together”) + κρᾶσις (krâsis, “temperament”). By surface analysis, idio- + syn- + -crasy.

## AI Etymology
Idiosyncrasy is first attested in 1604, in modern sense since 1665, from Ancient Greek ἰδιοσυγκρασία (idiosunkrasía, “one’s own temperament”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one’s own”) + σύν (sún, “together”) + κρᾶσις (krâsis, “temperament”). By surface analysis, idio- + syn- + -crasy. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include ἰδιοσυγκρασία (Ancient Greek). Current senses include an unusual habit or feature that is typical of one particular person and a distinctive or peculiar feature of something. The wider family includes derived forms such as idiosyncratic and idiosyncratically.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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