Where does “peculiar” come from?
Peculiar comes from Latin peculiaris, formed from Latin pecu with the suffix -aris, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European peḱ-, meaning to pluck or gather.
peculiar (English): Out of the ordinary; odd; strange; unusual;...
Definitions
- Out of the ordinary; odd; strange; unusual;...
Ancestry of “peculiar”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | peculiaris | private; personal; peculiar, specific |
| 2 | Latin | pecūlium | private property (originally in the form of cattle, but later in the form of savings) |
| 3 | Latin | pecus | A group of large domestic animals: a herd of... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | *pekos | — |