English Explanatory Dictionary

eccentric

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Not at or in the centre; away from the centre.
  2. Not perfectly circular; elliptical.
  3. Having a different center; not concentric.
  4. Deviating from the norm; behaving unexpectedly or differently; unconventional and slightly strange.
  5. Against or in the opposite direction of contraction of a muscle (such as results from flexion of the lower arm (bending of the elbow joint) by an external force while contracting the triceps and other elbow extensor muscles to control that movement; opening of the jaw while flexing the masseter).
  6. Having different goals or motives.
  7. Having or being an oospore with a single large oil globule on one side that displaces much of the ooplasm and forces the ooplasts to one side.
noun
  1. One who does not behave like others.
  2. A kook; a person of bizarre habits or beliefs.
  3. A circle not having the same centre as another.
  4. A disk or wheel with its axis off centre, giving a reciprocating motion.
  5. An exercise that goes against or in the opposite direction of contraction of a muscle.

Pronunciation

/ɪkˈsɛntɹɪk/ /ɛkˈsɛntɹɪk/ en-us-eccentric.ogg en-au-eccentric.ogg

Word forms

eccentric more eccentric most eccentric eccentrick excentric excentrick eccentrics

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs Proto-Hellenic *eks Ancient Greek ἐκ (ek) Ancient Greek ἐκ- (ek-) Proto-Indo-European *ḱent-der. Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Hellenic *-os Ancient Greek -ος (-os) Ancient Greek ἔκκεντρος (ékkentros)der. Medieval Latin eccentricusder. Middle French excentriquebor. English eccentric From Middle French excentrique, from Medieval Latin eccentricus, from Ancient Greek ἔκκεντρος (ékkentros, “not having the earth as the center of an orbit”), from ἐκ (ek, “out”) + κέντρον (kéntron, “point”). Equivalent to ex- + -centric.

Synonyms

excentrical odd abnormal aberrant anomalous balmy barmy bizarre crackpot cranky eccentric erratic extraordinary far-out freakish heteroclite idiocentric idiosyncratic irregular kookish kooky nutbar oddballish off-centre outlandish outré peculiar pixilated queer quirky quizzy spacy squirrelly uncommon wacky weird whimsical whimsome wifty Wodehousian Wonkaesque eccentrical nonconformist crank odd duck weirdo character misfit

Antonyms

concentric consistent conventional mainstream normal ordinary uneccentric

Related words

central centric eccentricity foible idiosyncrasy quirk insane strange person acentric

Derived words

eccentric abstraction eccentrically eccentric anomaly eccentricate eccentric contraction eccentric flint eccentric hypertrophy eccentric kangaroo unicycle eccentrize isoeccentric photoeccentric uneccentric
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