peculiaradj.n.
/pᵻˈkjuːlɪə/, U.S. /pəˈkjuljər/ A. adj.† 3. Of separate or distinct constitution or existence; independent, individual; single. Obsolete.
1. † b. in peculiar: as a peculiarity; in particular. Obsolete.
a. Distinguished in nature, character, or attributes from others; unlike others, sui generis; special, remarkable; distinctive.In later use coloured by sense A. 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [adjective]
speciala1387
especialc1400
principal1417
peculiarc1449
extraordinaryc1460
enspeciala1533
individual1646
different1856
speciality1879
speshul1900
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 312 (MED) Neither bi eny sufficient euydence of Holi Scripture or of other special and peculiar sure weel tried reuelacioun..resoun can deme and iuge that this seid pouerte was and is..a comandement to alle Cristene.
1562 T. Sternhold et al. Whole Bk. Psalmes xix. 38 [He] calleth them to the law wherin God hath reueled hymselfe more familiarly to his chosen people. The whiche peculiar grace by commending the lawe, he setteth foorth more at large.
1579 in T. Thomson Acts & Proc. Kirk of Scotl. (1840) II. 447 Such peculiar occasions ought not to be ommitted.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 2 Detracting..the excellent effects of our peculiar and singular weapon the Long Bowe.
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xxxi. 98 We seldome find any, without a peculiar delight in some peculiar thing.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman To Rdr. sig. B4 Sermons are more peculiar for the suppressing of vicious manners.
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations II. v. ii. 448 A more proper subject of peculiar taxation.
1849 G. Grote Hist. Greece VI. ii. xlvii. 66 The position of the Corinthians was peculiar.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. iv. 35 This latter point..is one of peculiar interest.
1935 G. Greene in Spectator 26 July 164/1 The domestic background is of interest: to know how a writer with the peculiar sensitivity we call genius compromises with family life.
1988 A. N. Wilson Tolstoy xiii. 330 Tolstoy's ability to get along well with young men, almost to flirt with them, was always a source of peculiar annoyance to his wife.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > especially or particularly [phrase]
hure and hurea1175
in special1389
in especialc1390
in speciallyc1450
with (also by, in, of) specialtyc1450
in particular1502
in speciality1543
in peculiar1607
of (also with) a specialty1686
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 315 Egipt had this in peculiar, that no other order, no not a Senator might be president or gouern among them.
1690 J. Locke Two Treat. Govt. i. xi. §162 One may as well say,..this Dominion was to belong in peculiar to one of his Issue.
1704 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World II. xii. 435 As for Truth he must be a great stranger to her and to himself too, that shall look upon it as a possession in peculiar.
a1800 W. Cowper Wks. (1837) XI. 250 But, in peculiar, to the Theban seer, I vow'd a sable ram, largest and best Of all my flocks.
2. † a. Of property, possessions, etc.: that belongs or relates to one person, place, or group, as distinct from others; that is a person's private property. Usually modified by a possessive. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > [adjective] > belonging to a particular thing or person
specialc1230
proper1340
peculiara1475
specifical?a1475
singular?a1513
private1526
privy1560
personed1565
individual1570
particular1582
idiotical1655
specific1665
sacred1667
specific1667
specifiala1670
idiomatic1771
idiomatical1774
appropriate1796
exclusive1804
propriate1820
especial1854
dedicated1969
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 130 (MED) Necessarie it is þat the kynge haue grete possescions, and peculier livelod ffor his owne suirte.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clj The Duke of Gloucester, had not so muche aduaunced..the common wealth and publique vtilite, as his awne priuate thinges & peculier estate.
1608 M. Fotherby Fovre Serm. sig. A2v Your Graces peculiar Dioces.
1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 6 The Sun, Aer, Water, Nature did not frame Peculiar; A Public gift I claim.
a1668 W. Davenant Man's the Master (1669) iv. i Now even all peculiar fields are turn'd to common roads about this populous town.
b. Of a quality, feature, custom, etc.: that characterizes, distinguishes, or belongs to a person, thing, or place; specific. Usually modified by a possessive.
ΚΠ
1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aiv Tho dayes yt by ye chirche were appoynted she kept them diligently & sereously, & in especyall ye holy lent..besyde her other peculer fastes of deuocion, as saint Anthony, mary Maudeleyn.
1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions ii. v. 148 It was a peculier maner of the Kynges of the Medes, to haue many wiues.
1564 P. Moore Hope of Health i. sig. Bii But beside them other members that are lesse principall, haue their peculier operations.
1606 W. Birnie Blame of Kirk-buriall xii. sig. D Their sacrifices for the dead..were either Iusta, and such as were common for al, or Parentalia and peculiare for parents or friends.
a1662 T. Craufurd Hist. Univ. Edinb. (1808) 138 A peculiar Thesaurar was appointed to manage the Colledge rents.
1709 A. Pope Chaucer's January & May in Poet. Misc.: 6th Pt. 180 All other Goods by Fortune's Hand are giv'n, A Wife is the peculiar Gift of Heav'n.
1759 A. Smith Theory Moral Sentiments v. §i. i Each of the five orders has its peculiar ornaments.
1827 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey IV. vi. ii. 68 He..imitated the peculiar sound of every animal that he met.
1912 H. Belloc This & That 74 See how each separate sort suffers its peculiar penalty.
1939 H. Miller Tropic of Capricorn 137 It was like the communion loaf in which all participate but from which each one receives only according to his peculiar state of grace.
1990 Dict. National Biogr. 1981–85 at Bunting, Basil The peculiar glory of Bunting's verse is its scrupulous playing off of vowel against vowel, consonant against consonant, [etc.].
c. peculiar to: exclusively or (formerly) particularly associated with, characteristic of, or belonging to.
ΚΠ
?1545 C. Langton Introd. Phisycke sig. Eiiiiv [For these veins] we haue no names in our tung whych be propre or peculier to them only, but muste be fayne to call them master veynes.
1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner Treasure of Euonymus 393 The which fashion, but with an other kinde of wine, we read, was peculier to the Athenians.
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 36 I meane not the common Daw, but one peculiar to Cornwall..termed a Cornish Chough: his bil is sharpe, long, and red, his legs of the same colour.
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. 297 The rules which are proper and peculiar to any one Language..about the Inflexion of words, and the Government of cases.
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. at Birch A tree peculiar to Great Britain.
1724 D. Defoe Tour Great Brit. I. i. 123 Sturbridge Fair... This Square..is separated, and Peculiar to the Wholesale Dealers in the Woollen Manufacture.
1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. xii. 262 A timidity peculiar to your sex.
1813 W. Allston Sylphs of Seasons 11 As it may be objected to the following Poem, that some of the images there introduced are not wholly peculiar to the Season described.
1878 T. Hardy Return of Native I. i. vi. 136 ‘Yes, yes—I own it,’ she cried under her breath, with a drowsy fervour of manner and tone which was quite peculiar to her.
1906 W. Marriott Hints to Meteorol. Observers (ed. 6) 67/1 The dry, gloomy, irritating fog peculiar to London and other large towns.
1992 New Republic 4 May 3/2 Are we to assume from this that rowdyism and overheated political rhetoric are somehow peculiar to the Irish?
d. Astronomy. Designating or relating to the motion or velocity of a celestial object relative to a group of objects of the same kind, esp. that of a star in the frame of reference in which the average velocity of the stars in the neighbourhood of the sun is zero. Also: designating the motion of a galaxy which deviates from that predicted by Hubble's law due to local gravitational effects.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > star > stellar motion > [adjective] > relative to other stars
peculiar1927
1890 A. M. Clerke Syst. Stars xxii. 340 The motus peculiaris itself is only a projection upon the sphere of a line of travel which may make any angle with the line of sight.]
1927 H. N. Russell et al. Astron. II. xix. 668 The peculiar motions of the fainter stars are more rapid than those of the brighter.
1936 E. Hubble Realm of Nebulæ v. 106 It was expected that, when the solar motion was removed, the residual, peculiar motions of the nebulæ would be much smaller than the observed velocities and..that they would be distributed at random.
1975 G. O. Abell Explor. Universe (ed. 3) xx. 396/1 The space velocity of a star, its motion with respect to the sun, is made up of both the star's peculiar velocity and a component due to solar motion.
1992 S. P. Maran Astron. & Astrophysics Encycl. 258/2 A galaxy's peculiar motion is found by subtracting from its observed radial velocity the fraction of its recession velocity attributable to cosmic expansion..within a velocity reference system.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [adjective] > individual or distinct
sunderlyeOE
sundryOE
serec1175
proper1340
serelepesa1400
sundrylepesc1400
sunderlepesa1450
peculiar1509
several1533
unconfounded1577
well-distinguished1594
articulate1603
unconfused1609
inconfused1626
separate1691
demarcated1862
1509 J. Fisher Serm. Henry VIJ (de Worde) sig. Aiiij He sente money to be dystrybuted for .x. M.I. masses peculeer to be sayd for hym.
1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. ii. Introd. Minding to reserue the proofes to a peculiar boke which I will..set forth.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. iii. 11 The single and peculier [1623 peculier] life is bound..To keepe it selfe from noyance. View more context for this quotation
a1711 T. Ken Wks. (1721) I. 155 Ev'ry Thorn gave a peculiar Wound.
1799 W. Tooke View Russ. Empire II. 50 The Khanate of Kazan subsisted as a peculiar state till the year 1552.
4. In the Church of England: exempt from or not subject to the jurisdiction of the bishop of the diocese.
ΚΠ
c1525 Abp. Warham Let. to Wolsey in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. II. 31 The value of the benefices within the diocesse of Canterburie and the iurisdiction peculiar of the same.
1563 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments 1394/2 I haue not offended in your dioces. For that which I spake..was in Paules Churche..which..is a peculiar iurisdiction, belonging to the Deane of Paules.
1604 tr. Constit. & Canons Ecclesiasticall 1603 cxxvi Possessours & Exercisers of peculiar Iurisdiction.
1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 94 The Archbishop whereof has also a peculiar Jurisdiction in thirteen Parishes within the City of London [etc.].
1822 D. Lysons & S. Lysons Devon in Magna Brit. Colyton... The Dean and Chapter of Exeter are patrons of the Vicarage... The Church is in their peculiar jurisdiction.
1840 Penny Cycl. XVII. 103/2 The living of Dorchester [Oxon.] is a perpetual curacy, in the jurisdiction of the peculiar court of Dorchester.
1922 W. S. Holdsworth Hist. Eng. Law I. 600 One cause for the growth of these peculiar courts was the conflicts between the bishops and their chapters, which resulted in the apportionment of the land, and jurisdiction over the land, between the bishop and the chapter. Thus both the bishops and the deans of the chapters possessed Peculiar courts.
1954 Rep. Comm. Eccl. Courts 7 There were as many as fifty-two peculiar courts in the dioceses of York and thirty-seven in that of Lichfield.
2001 Church Times 9 Mar. 14/2 Westminster Abbey and St George's Chapel..are within the Peculiar jurisdiction of the Crown.
5. gen. Singular, unusual, strange, odd.In earlier use not readily distinguishable from sense A. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [adjective] > special, extraordinary, or unusual
sunderlepeOE
specialc1325
strangec1330
undeemousa1400
outragec1400
singularc1400
stravagant1565
unusual1582
extraordinarya1586
remarkable1593
exordinary1601
peculiar1608
stupendous1640
eccentricala1652
particular1665
out-of-the-way1675
uncommon1705
awfy1724
exceptionable1801
tremendous1831
exceptional1846
exceptive1849
exceptionary1850
spesh1874
heart-stopping1891
off-brand1929
wild1955
cracker1964
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 11 The Tongue of a Serpent is peculiar, for..it is also clouen at the tippe.
1710 D. Manley Mem. Europe I. ii. 175 This Story I mention to you as a very peculiar one, which has something of a more vicious Taste in it than I have ever met with.
1726 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. ix. 170 We are in such a peculiar situation, with respect to Injuries done to ourselves, that we can scarce..see them as they really are.
1762 S. Scott Descr. Millenium Hall 38 This young lady was of a very peculiar turn of Mind.
1811 A. T. Thomson London Dispensatory iii. 433 The odour is peculiar and aromatic; the taste gratefully acid.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xx. 204 Mr. Weller's knowledge of London was extensive and peculiar.
1886 Dict. National Biogr. at Catherine Parr Her signature as regent..is not a little peculiar from the fact that she appended her initials..to the name itself.
1919 T. S. Eliot Trad. & Individual Talent in Egoist Dec. 72/2 Impressions and experiences combine in peculiar and unexpected ways.
a1940 F. S. Fitzgerald Last Tycoon (1941) iv. 59 The whole vision of last night came back to him—the very skin with that peculiar radiance as if phosphorus had touched it.
1991 Washington Flyer Sept. (Here Insert) 30/2 The outrageously funny ‘Vineland’, complete with a zany plot and downright peculiar characters.
6. Belonging to the Christian denomination called the Peculiar People. rare.
ΚΠ
1901 Essex Weekly News 29 Mar. 2/4 ‘Peculiar’ parents censured at Barking.
7. Astronomy.
a. Of a star: showing features uncharacteristic of the spectral class to which it belongs.
ΚΠ
1904 Astrophysical Jrnl. 19 287 (heading) Stars having peculiar spectra.]
1913 Sci. Abstr. A. 16 531 The note contains details of 10 new peculiar stars having bright-line spectra.
1933 Astrophysical Jrnl. 77 332 There is a faint line at λ4200 agreeing in position with [a] stronger unknown line in the cooler peculiar stars.
1986 J. B. Hearnshaw Anal. Starlight x. 444 In the 1950s attention was also turned to the peculiar stars, especially the peculiar A stars and the high-velocity stars of Population II, which includes the subdwarfs.
b. Of a galaxy: not belonging to any of the common types (i.e. elliptical, spiral, and irregular).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > constellation > galaxy > [adjective]
irregular1811
galactic1834
supergiant1930
peculiar1936
1936 E. Hubble Realm of Nebulæ ii. 47 The remaining irregulars might be arbitrarily placed in the regular sequence as highly peculiar objects.
1959 Listener 31 Dec. 1152/1 There are a few galaxies that do not fit conveniently into this classification of spirals, ellipticals, and irregulars. These are the ‘peculiar’ galaxies.
1972 R. Jastrow & M. H. Thompson Astron. 213 In all the cases that have been examined thus far, the unusual event that altered the appearance of the peculiar galaxy seems to have been either a collision with another galaxy, or a gigantic explosion within the galaxy.
1990 D. H. Menzel & J. M. Pasachoff Field Guide Stars & Planets iv. 122 A galaxy might have a jet of gas sticking out, for example, or be wrapped with extra dust. These galaxies are labelled (pec), for peculiar.
B. n.† 4. An individual member of a group or collective whole; a particular, an item, a detail. Obsolete.
1. † b. More generally: a place, district, office, etc., exempt from ordinary jurisdiction. Obsolete.† c. In the former colonies and provinces of New England: a district or piece of land not (yet) incorporated in or as a town. Obsolete.
a. In the Church of England: a parish, church, chapel, or ecclesiastical court exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese in which it is physically located. Cf. sense A. 4. royal peculiar n. a chapel exempt from any jurisdiction but that of the sovereign. court of peculiars n. [compare post-classical Latin curia peculiarum (1586 in a British source)] now historical a branch of the Court of Arches with jurisdiction over the peculiars of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Dean of Peculiars: see dean n.1 6.Most peculiars were abolished in the 19th cent.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > priest > kinds of priest > [noun] > parish priest > jurisdiction of or parish > exempt from local bishop's authority
acephala1387
peculiar1562
1562 Bp. W. Alley in J. Strype Ann. Reformation (1709) I. xxxi. 310 That Bishops may have jurisdiction to call all criminal causes before them, and to reform other disorders in all Peculiars, and places exempt, which be speluncæ latronum.
1586 Surv. of Ministry in Seconde Part Reg. (1915) II. 96 In the Archdeaconrie of London, besides the peculiars of Canterburie, Powles, and Westminster.., there are but eight ordinary preachers that live upon their livings in one place.
1631 J. Weever Anc. Funerall Monuments 309 Shorham is but a Peculiar to the Archbishop, who holds his prerogatiue wheresoeuer his lands do lie.
1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words The Court of Peculiars.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Peculiar, signifies a particular Parish or Church that hath Jurisdiction within its self, for Probat of Wills, &c. exempt from the Ordinary, and the Bishops Courts.
1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. v. 65 The court of peculiars..has a jurisdiction over all those parishes dispersed through the province of Canterbury in the midst of other dioceses, which are exempt from the ordinary's jurisdiction, and subject to the metropolitan only.
1785 Daily Universal Reg. 1 June 3/2 On Sunday last died..Andrew Coltée Dcarel, Esq;..Commissary of the Royal Peculiar of St. Catherine's.
1817 W. Pitt Topogr. Hist. Staffs. I. 256 It is a royal peculiar, having four chapels within its jurisdiction.
1846 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. iv. iv. 325 There are also Peculiars of various descriptions in most dioceses,..royal, archiepiscopal, episcopal, decanal, sub-decanal, prebendal, rectorial, and vicarial.
1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 21 Aug. 9/1 Burian, the royal deanery, has been a peculiar since the days of Athelstan, and kept its privileges when other peculiars were abolished.
1920 H. G. Rivington & A. C. Fountaine Smith's Summary of Law & Pract. in Eccl. Courts (ed. 7) 14 The Provincial Courts in the province of Canterbury used to be called the Court of Arches and the Court of Peculiars.
1967 E. G. Moore Introd. Eng. Canon Law 48 In some respects the two royal peculiars of Westminster Abbey and St George's, Windsor, resemble cathedrals..in that each is governed by a dean and chapter; but there the similarity ends, for they are entirely free of both episcopal and archiepiscopal jurisdiction.
1993 Guardian 11 Dec. (Weekend Suppl.) 59/2 Masham was a ‘peculiar’, an ecclesiastical court without a bishop.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > right of specific class, person, or place > [noun] > legal privilege or immunity > place that enjoys
peculiar1591
1591 G. Fletcher Of Russe Common Wealth ix. f. 28v Out of the Prouince..of Vagha, there is giuen him for a peculiar exempted out of the Chetfird of Posolskoy 32000. rubbels.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 4 That Scotland was by them accompted an exempt kingdome, and a Peculiar properly appertaining to the Roman Chappell.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 35 It [sc. the Chancery] becomes a kinde of Peculiar, exempting it selfe from the ordinary course in manner of triall, and from the ordinary rules of Law.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > country as opposed to town > [noun] > in New England
peculiar1720
1720 in Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1872) VI. 210 Resolved..That Mr. John Read, who dwells between Fairfield and Danbury, be likewise annually listed, as a peculiar to Danbury.
1737 in Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1872–4) VIII. 133 All peculiars, or lands not as yet laid within the bounds of any town,..shall be assessed by the rates of the next town unto it.
1739 in Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1872–4) VIII. 230 Being informed that a certain piece of land in the county of Windham..is not in any town but still remains a peculiar,..Be it enacted..That the said tract of land be annexed to the town of Voluntown.
1809 E. A. Kendall Trav. Northern Parts U.S. I. ii. 17 Precincts or peculiars are in some cases ordered to be rated at or in certain towns, and in such cases are rated and governed by the town.
1815 J. Pickering in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 3 ii. 506 All peculiars, viz. such places as are not yet layd within the bounds of any town.
2. A trait or quality exclusive to or characteristic of an individual or a thing; a distinguishing feature; a peculiarity. Now archaic and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > [noun] > a characteristic
privilegec1225
distinctionc1374
propertyc1390
tachea1400
pointa1425
specialty?a1425
difference?c1425
conditionc1460
markc1522
touch1528
specialty1532
differentia1551
character?1569
formality1570
particularity1585
peculiar1589
accent1591
appropriation1600
characterism1603
peculiarity1606
resemblance1622
propera1626
speciality1625
specificationa1631
appropriament1633
characteristic1646
discrimination1646
diagnostic1651
characteristical1660
stroke1666
talent1670
physiognomya1680
oddity1713
distinctive1816
spécialité1836
trait1864
flavour1866
middle name1905
discriminant1920
discriminator1943
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie i. ii. 3 A peculiar, which our speech hath in many things differing from theirs.
1625 R. Montagu Appello Cæsarem 231 Omnipresence is the absolute Peculiar of the Almighty.
a1650 S. D'Ewes Jrnls. Parl. Queen Elizabeth anno 1571 (1682) 137/2 The extraordinary charge [on the Crown] hath always been sustained by an extraordinary relief. This..is..a necessary peculiar pertaining to all Common-Wealthes, and private States of men.
1657 W. Rand tr. P. Gassendi Mirrour of Nobility ii. 150 Peradventure [those Stigmata, or insensible parts] might..belong to some peculiar of that disease which is termed Elephantiasis.
1701 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World I. 206 There is this peculiar in vision that is not in our other senses, that it includes an outward objective perception.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa V. xxv. 221 I know thou likest this lively present-tense manner, as it is one of my peculiars.
a1750 A. Hill Wks. (1753) II. 396 Your poetry is a peculiar, that will make it impossible, you should be forgotten.
1904 M. Hewlett Road in Tuscany I. vii. 178 Here you see the bottom of childishness which is pure Tuscan: Dante's sublime simplicity was not a peculiar of his nor of his nation's.
3. † b. Theology. A personal or chosen possession of God; a chosen or elect person or people. Cf. peculiar people n. a, b. Obsolete.† c. A person's private interest or special concern. Obsolete.† d. Chiefly slang. A man's wife or mistress. Obsolete. rare.
a. Something which is the property of, or belongs or relates exclusively to, an individual or group of individuals. Now rare.With royal peculiar in quot. 1966 cf. sense A. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > [noun] > quality of being particular or not general > quality of being personal > a special possession or distinction
specialtya1425
peculiar1589
patent1600
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. viii But that any of them be comparable with it, for wit, vertue, grauitie, and if ye list brauerie, honour and magnificence, not vsurping vpon the peculiars of the gods.
1592 H. Wotton Let. 27 July in L. P. Smith Life & Lett. Sir H. Wotton (1907) (modernized text) I. 282 The price of a cardinalship is an hundred thousand crowns..which comes not to the Church, but it is the Pope's peculiar.
1650 T. Bayly Worcesters Apophthegmes 105 Leave was obtained..that he might be buried in Windsor Castle (where there is a peculiar for the family).
1661 G. Wither Triple Paradox in Misc. Wks. (1872–7) II. 75 Kings and Princes, Were not alone by Prelates insolencies, Abus'd..; But, God, is also, thrust out of his Throne: Ev'n his Peculiars are usurp'd upon.
1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Jewish War v. xi, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 909 They would preserve..that temple which was their peculiar.
1846 G. Grote Hist. Greece II. ii. vi. 543 How far the peculiar of the primitive Sparta extended we have no means of determining.
1865 G. Grote Plato I. xiv. 451 A peculiar appertaining to philosophers, distinct from though analogous to the peculiar of each several art.
1966 Observer 8 May 40/1 In contracts of service with the Royal Family the employee usually undertakes not to make any such disclosures, not only during his term of service, but even when it is over and done with. This is not a royal peculiar. Whether the employer is royal or common the courts can and do enforce these undertakings by an injunction.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > salvation, redemption > [noun] > person > collective
sheepc825
chosenc1200
heritagea1340
markedc1350
Israel1382
peculiar peoplea1513
forechosen1577
peculiar1610
election1611
predestinated1626
peculiar racea1657
1610 Bible (Douay) II. Mal. iii. 17 And they shal be to me..to my peculiar [L. in peculium], and I wil spare them, as a man spareth his sonne.
a1617 P. Baynes Comm. Ephes. (1658) 116 Beleevers are a peculiar to God, are set apart.
a1638 J. Mede Wks. (1672) 181 We who are God's peculiars, must demean our selves peculiarly both toward God and man.
1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (cvi. 40 Paraphr.) 534 He would own them for ever as his peculiar.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun] > particular to someone
privy councilc1300
peculiar1611
yours1841
1611 R. Bolton State True Happiness 101 The spirituall state of sanctified soules and afflicted consciences; which I take to be Gods childs peculiar.
1637 R. Ashley tr. V. Malvezzi Davide Perseguitato 54 Hee is governed by that which appertaines to the King, and not by his owne peculiar.
1720–21 Lett. from Mist's Jrnl. (1722) II. 256 The Concern they will learn for the Affairs of the Universe, will naturally lead them to a close attention to their own Peculiar.
1824 Ld. Byron Let. 25 Feb. (1981) XI. 123 I will however give you the events of a week—mingling my own private peculiar with the public for we are here jumbled a little together at present.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married woman > [noun] > wife > one's wife
peculiar1615
old woman1668
old girl1745
the Mrs1821
old lady1836
old Dutcha1889
duchess1909
ever-loving1939
her indoors1979
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 66 Yet are they [sc. Turks] to meddle with none but their owne peculiars: the offending woman they drowne, and the man they gansh.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Peculiar, a Mistress. [Also in later dictionaries.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > [noun] > quality of being particular or not general > that which is > a particular thing or item
specialc1390
peculiar1610
1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God vii. iii. 260 Why..could not hee..extend his generall power through each peculiar?
1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. vi. v. 365 I shall..speak only of two peculiars more.
5. Christian Church (now historical).
a. colloquial (depreciative). A member of the evangelical wing of the Church of England.A disparaging term used by members of the Oxford Movement. Cf. peculiarism n.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Anglicanism > Low Church > [noun] > person
Protestant1583
latitude man1662
latitudinarian1662
Low Churchman1698
low-flyer?1704
lowboy1707
Simeonite1795
Hoadlyite1800
evangelical1804
evangelic1812
peculiar1834
Sim1836
Recordite1844
evangelican1876
Kensitite1898
1834 J. H. Newman Let. 10 Aug. (1903) II. 55 The Saurinians, Peculiars, or in whatever other name they rejoice.
1838 S. Wilberforce Diary in A. R. Ashwell Life S. Wilberforce (1880) I. 119 [He] had all the faults of the low tone of the Peculiars strongly marked.
1895 E. S. Purcell Life Cardinal Manning I. 114 ‘Puseyites and Peculiars’ stood shoulder to shoulder.
1917 Encycl. Relig. & Ethics IX. 703/1 The word ‘Peculiars’ was often used in the early period of the Oxford Movement as a nickname for the members of the ‘Evangelical’ party.
b. A member of the Christian denomination called the Peculiar People.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Baptists > sects and groups > [noun]
peculiar1872
1872 Times 3 May 12/6 Tere was a very large attendance.., consisting principally of Peculiar People and their friends... The Peculiars endeavoured to provoke the coroner to a Scriptural controversy [printed controvery].
1873 C. M. Davies Unorthodox London 293 (heading) The Plumstead ‘Peculiars’.
1893 Daily News 8 Apr. 7/4 All you who mean to follow in the same old way and be Peculiars follow me.
1905 Daily Chron. 5 Apr. 6/3 Her husband said he had been a ‘Peculiar’ for over two years. His wife was ‘converted’ on a bed of sickness, when ‘Brother’ James visited her, and she recovered after the laying on of hands.
1942 Sussex County Mag. Dec. 346/2 James Bridges, the evangelist, who in 1836 had founded the Plumstead Peculiars, a tiny sect which practised faith-healing and annointing the sick with oil.
Compounds
C1. Parasynthetic.
peculiar-looking adj.
ΚΠ
1809 T. E. Hook Killing no Murder ii. i. 26 What a very peculiar looking gig you must have been on the stage.
1903 Edinb. Rev. July 197 A peculiar looking deer is the thameng.
1997 A. Golden Mem. Geisha iv. 55 If you've never seen a shamisen, you might find it a peculiar-looking instrument.
peculiar-shaped adj.
ΚΠ
1840 L. S. Costello Summer amongst Bocages & Vines II. xii. 237 The women wear..peculiar-shaped corsets.
1906 G. R. Sims Living London (rev. ed.) III. 50/2 A peculiar-shaped glass jar of cherries in liquor.
1997 Courier Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 19 Nov. (Life section) 30 How to deal with the bind of getting peculiar-shaped gifts overseas.
peculiar-tasting adj.
ΚΠ
1885 Trenton (New Jersey) Times 11 Sept. From the clarification room the once green peculiar tasting fluid is conveyed into iron tubs.
1973 ‘J. Ashford’ Double Run viii. 60 He ate a stale pastry and half drank a cup of very peculiar-tasting coffee.
2003 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 12 Feb. vi. 6 The sauce was watery and peculiar-tasting.
C2.
peculiar domestic institution n. U.S. (now historical and rare) = peculiar institution n.
ΚΠ
1834 Address 4 July in Publ. Mississippi Hist. Soc. (1912) 12 65 How long will it be before the South will be compelled to yield up her peculiar domestic institutions so obnoxious to the other portion [of the Union].
1849 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 184 A crowd..who have so heated themselves by preaching against ‘the peculiar domestic institution’, that they will not be satisfied with pitching slavery into the bottomless gulf, unless [etc.].
peculiar institution n. U.S. (now historical) the system of slavery in the Southern states of the U.S.; formerly also in plural in same sense.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > slavery or bondage > [noun] > system or institution > specific
peculiar institution1829
peculiar domestic institution1834
padronism1879
1829 Carolina Observer (Fayetteville, N. Carolina) 1 Jan. 1/4 South Carolina, from her climate, situation, and peculiar institutions, is and must forever continue to be, wholly dependent upon agriculture and commerce.
1861 H. A. Jacobs Incidents Life Slave Girl viii. 69 The northern man is not welcome south of Mason and Dixon's line, unless he suppresses every thought and feeling at variance with their ‘peculiar institution’.
1912 Dict. National Biogr. 1901–11 at Russell, Sir William Howard A visit to the South made him dislike the ‘peculiar institution’ of slavery so intensely that [etc.].
1989 C. R. Wilson & W. Ferris Encycl. Southern Culture 1391/2 Even the masses of southern whites who owned no slaves at all supported the ‘peculiar institution’ as a means of keeping blacks subordinate.
peculiar nation n. = peculiar people n. (in various senses).
ΚΠ
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxxi. 187 Having chosen out one peculiar Nation (the Jewes) for his Subjects.
a1791 J. Wesley & C. Wesley Poet. Wks. (1871) XII. 165 Moses form'd the church of old, And one peculiar nation join'd; Christ received into His fold The souls of all mankind.
1965 PMLA 80 367/1 Michael relates how God, determining to select a peculiar nation ‘from one faithful man to spring’, calls Abraham by a vision.
peculiar race n. = peculiar people n. (in various senses).
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > salvation, redemption > [noun] > person > collective
sheepc825
chosenc1200
heritagea1340
markedc1350
Israel1382
peculiar peoplea1513
forechosen1577
peculiar1610
election1611
predestinated1626
peculiar racea1657
a1657 W. Mure Wks. (1898) i. 208 And 'mongst God's people, and peculiar race, For outward idols finding now no place.
1738 J. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) li. xxi The dear peculiar Race Their grateful Sacrifice shall bring.
1828 J. Cottle Hymns & Lyrics iii. 3 If, from nature, call'd by grace, You are a peculiar race.
1946 M. R. Cohen Faith of Liberal 329 A national Jewish Palestine must necessarily mean a state founded on a peculiar race, a tribal religion, and a mystic belief in a peculiar soil.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.c1449