sui generisadj.n.
/ˌs(j)uːʌɪ ˈdʒɛn(ə)rɪs/, /ˌs(j)uːiː ˈdʒɛn(ə)rɪs/, /ˌs(j)uːʌɪ ˈɡɛn(ə)rɪs/, /ˌs(j)uːiː ˈɡɛn(ə)rɪs/, U.S. /ˌsuˌaɪ ˈdʒɛnərəs/, /ˌsui ˈdʒɛnərəs/ A. adj.
Unlike others; one-of-a-kind, unique.Until the 19th cent. the term was primarily used in scientific writing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [adjective] > belonging to no type or pattern
unlikec1450
sui generis1615
amorphous1804
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 454 Aristotle..saide, that it [sc. the substance of the braine] was sui generis of his owne kinde, intimating thereby, that there was no other kinde in the whole body whereunto it might fitly be referred.
1685 R. Boyle Short Mem. Hist. Mineral Waters 56 Arsenic..whose corrosiveness is sui generis, that is, of a peculiar kind.
1723 P. Blair Pharmaco-botanologia i. 34 This is a Plant sui Generis, Class'd with the Grass leav'd Tribe.
1813 J. P. Smith On Sacrifice of Christ 50 The transcendent case before us is absolutely sui generis.
1848 Prairie Farmer Aug. 243/1 The same plans recommended and adopted in the East, will never make a fence which will stop our prairie pigs—they are ‘sui generis’, and must have a ‘sui generis’ hedge.
1977 Time 4 Apr. 41/3 The superlative interpretations by the sui generis Budapest Quartet come from tapes of live performances at the Library of Congress in 1959 and 1961.
2014 New Yorker 31 Mar. 56/2 Neither a ballet nor a musical, ‘Contact’ was sui generis, a novelty that was first billed as a ‘dance play’.
B. n.
Something that is one-of-a-kind; a thing of unique character. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [noun] > fact of being unparalleled or unique > that which is unique > a unique thing or person
nonpareilc1500
transcendent1591
Arabian birda1616
imparallel1658
original1675
incomparable1704
unique1769
sui generis1787
oner1841
unicum1885
the only pebble on the beach1896
1787 M. Cutler Jrnl. 13 July in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 268 The Doctor..thinks it must be a sui generis of that class of animals.
1833 T. Man Picture of Factory Village 134 A High Prize is a Rara Avis; a Sui Generis; seldom seen or met with in these latitudes.
2003 Eurobusiness Aug. 5/1 Israel is a sui generis, one of a kind, though it participates in European football and singing contests without any problem at all.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2020; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1615