weirdn.

Brit.

/wɪəd/, U.S.

/wɪ(ə)rd/

Forms: Old English wyrd, Middle English wird, (Middle English wired, Middle English wirid), wirde, Middle English wyrde, (transmission error) word; Middle English wyerde, wierde, Middle English–1500s werd (Middle English werid), werde, Middle English– weird (Middle English Scottish veird), 1600s–1700s (1800s Scottish) wierd; Scottish1500s waird, 1500s–1600s weard, 1700s weerd.

Etymology: Old English wyrd (feminine), = Old Saxon wurd (plural wurdi ), Old High German wurt , Old Norse urð-r , from the weak grade of the stem werþ- , warþ- , wurþ- to become: see worth v.¹The word is common in Old English, but wanting in Middle English until c1300, and then occurs chiefly in northern texts, though employed also by Chaucer, Gower, and Langland. The normal later and modern form would have been wird, and the substitution of werd, wērd (which is natural in south-eastern Middle English) is difficult to account for in the northern dialects. In senses now current the word is either Scottish or archaic (chiefly under the influence of Scottish writers).

a. The principle, power, or agency by which events are predetermined; fate, destiny.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun]

weirdc888

whatec1200

fortunea1300

cuta1340

destinyc1374

fatec1374

destin1590

jade1594

fatalitya1631

ananke1860

c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxix. §5 Ac þæt þæt we wyrd hatað, þæt bið Godes weorc þæt he ælce dæg wyrcð.

OE Seafarer 115 Wyrd biþ swiþre, meotud meahtigra þonne ænges monnes gehygd.

OE Beowulf 455 Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel!

OE Beowulf 477 Hie wyrd forsweop on Grendles gryre.

a1400–50 Wars Alex. 443 Þat sygnyfys þe same man þat sett is, be wird, So many prouynce to pas.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2134 Worþe hit wele oþer wo, as þe wyrde lykeȝ hit hafe.

c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 249 What wyrde has hyder my iuel vayned.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 372 As werd will wyrk thi fortoun mon thou tak.

c1585 A. Montgomerie Sonn. xxxiii. 1 Vhom suld I warie bot my wicked weard, Vha span my thriftles thrauard fatall threed?

1603 Philotus c. sig. D3^v Quhat wickit weird hes wrocht our wo?

1895 W. Morris & A. J. Wyatt tr. Tale of Beowulf 16 Weird wends as she willeth.

1895 W. Morris & A. J. Wyatt tr. Tale of Beowulf 17 Weird swept them away.]

b. Magical power, enchantment.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun]

sigaldry?c1225

enchantery1297

enchantment1297

charminga1300

chantmentc1300

chantinga1382

forspeaking1483

fairyc1515

bewitching1535

enchanting1553

fascination1572

eye-biting1584

sparrow-blasting1589

effascination1624

enchant1634

maleficiation1649

spelling1665

glamour1793

weird1813

glamoury1821

ensorcellment1931

1813 J. Hogg Queen's Wake i. viii. 82 He heard the word of awsome weird, And he saw their deedis of synn.

a. plural. The Fates, the three goddesses supposed to determine the course of human life.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > classical deity > [noun] > the Fates

weirdsc725

ParcaeeOE

the three sistersa1400

destiny14..

the Weird Sistersc1400

(the) fatal dames, ladies, sisters1552

the three Fatals1575

fate1600

the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > the (three) Fates

weirdsc725

ParcaeeOE

the three sistersa1400

(the) fatal dames, ladies, sisters1552

the three Fatals1575

fate1600

c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) P. 15 Parcae, wyrde.

c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Hypermnestra. 19 The werdys that we clepyn destene Hath shapyn hire that she mot nedis be Pyetous sad.

c1450 Crt. of Love 1173 I mene, the three of fatall destinè, That be our werdes.

1483 Cath. Angl. 420/2 Wyrdis, parce.

1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid i. i. 30 Gif werdis war nocht contrair [L. si qua fata sinant].

a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) iv. sig. Fii The werdes withstande [L. fata obstant].

a1585 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart 326 ‘Woe worth’, quoth the Weirds, ‘the wights that thee wroght!’

1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. i. 5 And whilst from Phleg'ran fields, the weirds me call, I in Elisean plaines, am forc'd to fall.

1722 A. Ramsay Tale Three Bonnets ii. 13 Ye'r grown sae braw: now Weirds defend me.

1855 R. C. Singleton tr. Virgil Eclogues iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. I. 29 ‘Career ye on,’ Have to their spindles cried, in harmony With the unswerving will of fates, the Weirds [L. Parcae].

b. One pretending or supposed to have the power to foresee and to control future events; a witch or wizard, a soothsayer.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > soothsaying > [noun] > soothsayer

soothsayer1381

Chaldee1382

ariole1398

ariolerc1475

bruterer1530

Chaldean1581

weird1625

ariolater1652

ariolist1652

1625 P. Heylyn Μικρόκοσμος (rev. ed.) 509 These two..were mette by three Fairies, or Witches (Weirds the Scots call them).

1654 R. Vilvain tr. Enchiridium Epigr. ii. lxxx The 2 Scots courtiers who met three Wierds or Witches which foretold their fortune.

1682 C. Irvine Hist. Sc. Nomencl. 12 Arioli. Weards, Sooth-sayers, or Second-sighted-men.

1834 A. Smart Rambling Rhymes 164 Puir auld wives..Were seized in Superstition's clutches, An' brunt to death for wierds an' witches.

1899 J. Spence Shetland Folk-lore 143 With this green nettle And cross of metal I witches and wierds defy.

a. That which is destined or fated to happen to a particular person, etc.; what one will do or suffer; one's appointed lot or fortune, destiny.Often in to dree one's weird: see dree v. Phrases 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [noun] > destiny or fate > a destiny

weirdc725

sorta1325

fatality1589

fate1768

c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) S 433 Sortem, wyrd, condicionem.

c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xl. §1 Ic wille secgan þæt ælc wyrd bio good, sam hio monnum good þinc, sam hio him yfel þince.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9968 Had neuer womman sa blisful wird..Als maria maiden.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3453 Strang weird was giuen to þam o were þat þai moght noght þair strif for-bere.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2418 Dalyda dalt hym hys wyrde.

c1400 Ant. Arthur (Taylor) xvi ‘Ways me for thy wirde!’ cothe Waynor.

?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 4680 Þai grett, þai sorowed þair sary werde.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 765 My waryed werd in warld I mon fullfill.

1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 109 Euerie ladie passit hame..Weipand full soir and wareand hir werd.

1563 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) lxiii It made myne iyes in very teares consume: When I beheld the wofull werd befall, That by the wrathful wyl of Gods was come.

a1600 A. Montgomerie Misc. Poems xlvi. 31 They haif wroght my weird Vnhappiest on eird.

1718 A. Ramsay Christ's-kirk on Green iii. 26 It's a wise Wife that kens her wierd.

a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1785) 138 Those Whase weird is still to creep, alas! Unnotic'd 'mang the humle grass.

1793 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 768 Let simple maid the lesson read, The wierd may be her ain.

1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xi, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 306 My weird maun be fulfilled, Mr. Butler.

1892 J. A. Henderson Ann. Lower Deeside 79 The weird of this kirk is that it will fall in time of worship.

1909 H. Belloc Marie Antoinette 255 It was one more of those hammer-blows of Fate exactly coincident with the sequence of the Queen's weird.

b. plural (often in reference to a single person).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > that which is ordained by fate > personal destiny or one's lot

lotOE

chance1297

fallc1300

weirds1320

cuta1340

fatec1374

vie1377

parta1382

foredoom1563

event1577

allotment1586

fatality1589

kincha1600

lines1611

fortunea1616

dispensation1704

the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [noun] > destiny or fate > a destiny > destinies

weirds1320

1320–30 Horn Ch. 456 Wiif thai toke, and duelled thare; In Inglond com thai no mare, Her werdes for to bide.

c1340 R. Rolle Psalter lxxiv. 5 Sum says it was my werdis; sum says the sterne of my birth gert me syn.

c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1886) i. met. i. 1 The sorful wierdes of me olde man [L. maesti mea fata senis].

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 94 Whan thei at mi nativite My weerdes setten as thei wolde.

1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. iv. 241 As hus werdes [v.r. wirdus] were ordeined.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15279 Þe gait it es al graid, He mai sai wirdes warid þat forwit him es laid.

14.. Guy Warw. (Cambr.) 1155 Jesu Cryste, what ys my redde? For my loue þese men be dedde; Sory wordys were me lente, To serue Felyce when y was sente.

14.. Guy Warw. (Cambr.) 7416 Harde wordys ys me beforne.

1423 Kingis Quair ix So vncouthly hir werdes sche deuideth.

c1470 J. Hardyng Chron. lxxxv. iv Fortune, false executryse of weerdes [= Chaucer Troylus iii. 617], That euermore..To all debates thou strongly so enherdes.

1571 J. Maitland in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxvii. 102 Then warreitt war thy weirdis and wanhap.

1579 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) III. 140/1 That they can tell þair weardis deathis & fortunes.

c. spec. An evil fate inflicted by supernatural power, esp. by way of retribution.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > [noun] > misfortune or ill-luck > an evil fate > inflicted by supernatural power

weird1874

the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun] > spell > malignant enchantment or curse

curse1382

taking1541

ban1603

malignation1652

bad mouth1832

brujería1838

weird1874

Indian sign1901

hex1909

whammy1940

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8981 Bot hard it es, þe wird o sin þat yarked was til adam kin!]

1874 ‘Ouida’ Two Wooden Shoes 132 Swallows do not tell their secrets. They have the weird of Procne on them all.

1877 R. C. Trench Lect. Med. Ch. Hist. 178 But a weird was upon him and upon his race.

1885 J. Ingelow Sleep of Sigismund 7 The weird is on him to grope in the dark with endless Weariful feet for a goal that shifteth still.

a. A happening, event, occurrence.Prov. after word comes weird, the mention of a thing is followed by its occurrence or appearance.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > occurrence or event

weird971

redeOE

thingOE

limpc1200

casea1250

tidingc1275

timinga1325

being?c1400

incident?1462

advenement1490

occurrent1523

accidenta1525

occurrence1539

affair1550

event1554

happening1561

événement1567

success1588

betide1590

circumstance1592

arrivage1603

eveniency1660

occurrency1671

betider1674

befalling1839

whet1849

intermezzo1851

transpiration1908

971 Blickl. Hom. 221 Þa gelamp wundorlic wyrd þæt se leg ongan slean & brecan ongean þone wind.

OE Crist I 81 Ne we soðlice swylc ne gefrugnan in ærdagum æfre gelimpan, þæt ðu in sundurgiefe swylce befenge, ne we þære wyrde wenan þurfon toweard in tide.

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 340 It were a wonder wierde To sen a king become an hierde.

?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 5459 It befell' þis wondir werde.

1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 2 After Word comes Weird; fair fall them that call me Madam.

1883 H. Caine Shadow of Crime xxxvi Weel, weel; after word comes weird. That's why the constables are gone, and that's why Robbie's come.

b. That which is destined or fated to happen; predetermined events collectively.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [noun] > destiny or fate

whatec1200

gracec1325

destiny1340

portionc1350

sortc1405

weird1508

dolec1520

foredoom1563

fate1667

destinate1675

fatality1699

kismet1849

ultimatum1861

foredestiny1872

ming1937

1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. cvi^v Thair wil nane wyis that ar wis wary the werd.

1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. vii. 48 Bot we from werd to werd and chance mon wend.

1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd i. 3 A tale that the elders have told, A story of weird and of woe.

†a. A decree (of a god). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > a decree of fate

ordinance1340

weirda1400

pre-ordinance1486

foreordinance1530

fore-purpose1551

ordainment1605

foreordination1620

fatality1763

society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > Old Testament > [noun] > Mosaic dispensation > decalogue > one of

commandmentc1325

weirda1400

statutec1430

law-word1645

command1667

a1400–50 Wars Alex. 270 Þe werdes Of my gracious goddis, þe grettest on erde.

1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xii. 202 And thou, Tellus, mast nobill God of erd, Hald fast the speris hed by ȝour werd.

†b. An omen or token significant of the nature of a future event; a prognostic. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > an omen, sign, portent > [noun]

foretokenc888

tokeningc888

beaconc950

token971

handsela1200

boding1297

wonder1297

bodec1374

signa1387

foreboding1387

prenostica1393

prognosticc1425

prophetc1430

prognostication?a1439

ostentationa1450

prenostication?a1450

prodigy?a1450

augurationc1450

preparative1460

prenosticate?a1475

prenosticative?a1475

prodige1482

prenosticature1490

tokener1513

weird1513

show token1535

luck1538

prognosticate1541

preamble1548

proffer1548

presagition?c1550

foreshower1555

presage1560

portent1562

ostent1570

presagie1581

omen1582

presagement1586

luck sign1587

augury1588

prognosticon1588

forerunner1589

presager1591

halfner1594

spae1596

abode1598

oss1600

assign1601

augur1603

bodement1613

predictiona1616

prognosticala1618

bespeaker1624

portender1635

pre-indicant1659

foreshadow1834

boder1846

prognosticant1880

sky sign1880

1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xiii. 150 Jove..bad hir hald doun baldly to the erd, For to resist Juturnais ire and werd [L. omen].

1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1903) II. 233 Þe senat..said þai acceppit þe weird þat followit one þir wourdis.

c. A prediction of the fate which is to happen to a person; etc.; a prophecy.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > [noun] > an inspired prophecy

visionc1290

prophecyc1330

vaticiny1587

destiny1602

vaticination1603

prevision1635

weird1785

1785 Select Coll. Poems Buchan Dial. 18 Altho' his mither, in her weirds, Foretald his death at Troy.

1802 C. Gray Poems (1811) 73 Then, as to his fortin tellin',..he ne'er liket to be sellin' His weird for wind.

d. A supernatural or marvellous occurrence or tale.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [noun] > event

wonderc950

miraclec1390

marl1604

phenomenon1741

weird1814

sensation1860

masterpiece1933

wipeout1968

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > telling strange stories > [noun] > wonderful or strange story

unco1786

weird1814

1814 W. Nicholson Tales in Verse 2 [She] Could tell her tale or lilt her sang,..Wi' weirds an' witch'ries aft atween, An' unco sights that some had seen.

a1859 A. Tait in Jas. Watson Living Bards of Border 151 What legends and weirds these fair scenes still awaken.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

weird-fixed adj.

ΚΠ

1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 181 Now was come the weird-fix't hour Ordain'd to break the Papish power.

weird-set adj.

ΚΠ

1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 46 The weird-set day begins to daw.

C2.

weird-licht n. Scottish the light of destiny.

ΚΠ

1844 W. Thom Rhymes & Recoll. 54 There's a bricht e'e looks love to me, Like the weird licht o'er me shining.

† weird-man n. Obsolete a seer.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > [noun] > a prophet or seer

witiec897

seera1382

before-speakerc1400

prophesier1477

spaeman?a1505

vaticinarc1550

destinator1579

mantist1588

vident1588

vates1625

fatary1652

faticane1652

vaticinator1652

visionist1665

visionary1706

visioner1716

weird-man1806

spaer1820

spae-wright1876

percipient1883

1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 238 ‘Dire is the doom’, the wierd-man said; ‘Nae mair, O lady, speir!’

weird-woman n. a witch.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > sorcerer or magician > witch > [noun]

walkyrieOE

witchOE

hagc1230

strya1300

wise woman1382

sorceressc1384

luller14..

tylyester14..

chantressc1425

magicienne1490

gyre-carline1535

witch-womana1538

eye-biter1584

beldama1586

witch-wife1591

cunning woman1594

saga?a1600

magha1609

magicianess1651

hag-witcha1658

haggard1658

besom-rider1664

wizardess1789

fly-by-night1796

lucky1827

bruja1829

weird-woman1845

hex1856

Baba Yaga1857

pishogue1906

witcher1928

1845 J. E. Carpenter Poems & Lyrics 34 The weird-woman had stol'n away.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

weirdadj.

Brit.

/wɪəd/, U.S.

/wɪ(ə)rd/

Forms: Also Middle English wyrde, Middle English–1500s Scottish werd(e, 1500s veird, 1600s weyard ( weyward), weer'd, 1700s weïrd, 1800s weerd.

Etymology: Originally an attributive use of weird n. in weird sisters (see sense 1), the later currency and adjectival use being derived from the occurrence of this in the story of Macbeth. The evolution of the forms found in Shakespeare's Macbeth was apparently from*weyrd to weyard (retained in Acts iii and iv in the First Folio) and weyward (used in Acts i and ii); the latter was no doubt due to association with wayward , a word used many times by Shakespeare. (The later folios retain the weyward spelling, and alter the other to this or to wizard .) In several passages the prosody clearly requires the word to be pronounced as two syllables; hence Theobald's use of the diæresis in his emendation weïrd (see quot. 1733 at sense 1 below), giving rise to the scansion of quot. 1755 at sense 1, and quot. 1820 at sense 4a.

1. Having the power to control the fate or destiny of human beings, etc.; later, claiming the supernatural power of dealing with fate or destiny.Originally in the Weird Sisters = †(a) the Fates; (b) the witches in Macbeth.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > classical deity > [noun] > the Fates

weirdsc725

ParcaeeOE

the three sistersa1400

destiny14..

the Weird Sistersc1400

(the) fatal dames, ladies, sisters1552

the three Fatals1575

fate1600

the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [adjective] > having the power to control fate

weirdc1400

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > [adjective]

witiec897

weirdc1400

propheticalc1450

propheticc1484

vaticinant1490

fatal?1504

spaeing?a1505

vaticinal1587

mantical1588

vatical1594

vatic1603

fatidical1608

vaticinating1634

fatiloquent1656

vaticinian1656

fatidic1671

fateful1720

vaticinatric1729

seer-like1816

mantic1839

fatidicating1867

vaticinatory1883

c1400 Sc. Trojan War ii. 2818 Vþeris said sche was, I trow, A werde-sister, I wait neuir how.

c1420 Wyntoun Cron. vi. xviii. 1862 Þa women þan thoucht he Thre werd systeris mast lyk to be.

c1475 Cath. Angl. (Add. MS.) 420/2 Wyrde systres, parce.

1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid v. xiii. 74 Admit myne asking, gif so the fatis gidis,..Or ȝit werd sisteris list gif thaim that cuntre.

c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 50 The tail of the thre veird systirs.

1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Scotl. 243/2 (margin) in Chron. I The prophesie of three women supposing to be the weird sisters or feiries.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. iii. 30 The weyward Sisters, hand in hand,..Thus doe goe, about, about.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. i. 2 Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, As the weyard Women promis'd.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. iv. 132 I will to morrow..to the weyard Sisters.

1693 T. Urquhart & P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 3rd Bk. Wks. xxviii. 237 The weer'd Sister Parques.

1733 L. Theobald Wks. Shakespeare V. 393 (note) In every passage..my Emendation must be embraced and we must read weïrd [1740 Wierd, or Weïrd].

1755 J. G. Cooper Tomb Shakspeare 99 Where three swart sisters of the weïrd band Were mutt'ring curses to the troublous wind.

1765 Birth of St. George 47 in Percy Reliq. III. 218 To the weïrd lady of the woods He purpos'd to repaire.

1807 Salmagundi 18 Apr. 151 He had rather see one of the weird sisters flourish through his key-hole on a broom-stick.

a1822 P. B. Shelley Let. to — in Posthumous Poems (1824) 62 And here, like some weïrd Archimage sit I, Plotting dark spells.

a1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets (1857) v. 189 The weird woman with beards meet to seal the deep damnation of their victim.

a. Partaking of or suggestive of the supernatural; of a mysterious or unearthly character; unaccountably or uncomfortably strange; uncanny.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > [adjective] > uncanny

eldritch1508

eerie1792

erlisha1802

unearthly1802

weird1817

pokerish1825

weirdly1831

uncanny1843

spooky1854

weird-like1854

wisht1872

unheimlichc1877

weirdsome1885

1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna ix. viii. 197 Some said, I was a fiend from my weird cave, Who had stolen human shape.

a1822 P. B. Shelley Witch of Atlas lxxviii, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 55 It is A tale more fit for the weïrd winter nights—Than for these garish summer days.

1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. xiii. 168 This solitude has something in it weird and awful.

1851 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 4) i. 14 Myself too had weird seizures, Heaven knows what.

1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. i. 3 Both men then looked with a weird unholy interest at the wake of Gaffer's boat.

1878 H. W. Lucy Diary Two Parl.: Disraeli (1885) 393 I hear a weird story in connection with the private history of the family.

absolute.1888 Daily News 30 Aug. 4/7 Miss Seward, according to Sir Walter Scott, was a mistress of the weird in oral narrative.1899 G. Douglas James Hogg v. 101 Unlike the German's, Hogg's ‘weird’ is seldom or never morbid, fevered, hectic.

b. of sounds or voices.

ΚΠ

1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 3 In lone and silent hours, When night makes a weird sound of its own stillness.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. ii. 11 The weird rattle of the débris which fell at intervals.

1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. ii. i. 168 The person of the house gave a weird little laugh here.

1876 S. Smiles Life Sc. Naturalist vi. 100 He was awakened by a weird and unearthly moaning.

3. Of strange or unusual appearance, odd-looking.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective] > strange > specifically in appearance

uncouth1513

odd1596

wilda1616

weird1816

1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 31 Mutable As shapes in the weird clouds.

1861 H. Macmillan Footnotes from Nature 23 The soft yielding carpets of greenest verdure and weirdest patterns, woven by these tiny plants on the floor of shadowy old forests.

1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. Prel. 3 He begins to people the weird places of the earth with weird beings.

1907 A. Robertson in Trans. Devon Assoc. 53 Bampfylde Moore Carew, King of the Gipsies, [not] the only weird, extravagant figure that has moved across Devon's stage.

a. Out of the ordinary course, strange, unusual; hence, odd, fantastic.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective] > bizarre

remote1533

antic1579

outlandish1588

bizarrea1648

outré1722

freakish1805

weird1820

freaky1824

weirdish1863

ostrobogulous1951

ostrobogulatory1952

far-out1954

weirdo1962

flaky1972

zonky1972

gonzo1974

mondo bizarro1976

mondo1979

woo-woo1986

freakazoid1990

1820 J. Keats Lamia i, in Lamia & Other Poems 9 I..bade her steep Her hair in weïrd syrops, that would keep Her loveliness invisible.

1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton King Arthur ii. xxxvi The prophet up the plain, Gathering weird simples, pass'd.

1855 C. Dickens Holly-tree Inn: Guest in Househ. Words Extra Christmas No. 5/2 He was a man with a weird belief in him that no one could count the stones of Stonehenge twice, and make the same number of them.

1912 Eng. Hist. Rev. Oct. 833 The ‘Guacciadim’ of p. 140 is a weird misprint for Guicciardini.

b. Colloquial phrase weird and wonderful, marvellous in a strange or eccentric way; both remarkable and peculiar or unfathomable; exotic, outlandish. Frequently ironical or derogatory.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [adjective] > with quality of strangeness

selcouthc888

uncouthc900

sellya1000

ferly?c1225

strangec1374

nicec1395

ferlifula1400

monsterfulc1460

portentous1553

miraculous1569

vengible1594

strangefula1618

phenomenous1743

phenomenala1850

very like a whale1859

weird and wonderful1859

fourth-dimensional1902

out of this world1941

unreal1965

1859 J. H. Stirling in Meliora 1 231 These [poems] are doubtless meant to be very weird and wonderful, but they are mere breath, and..barren as the wind.

1886 O. Wilde in Pall Mall Gaz. 1 Feb. 5/1 There is psychology of a weird and wonderful kind.

1908 T. E. Lawrence Let. 9 Aug. in T. E. Lawrence et al. Home Lett. (1954) 70 Their food is weird and wonderful.

1946 Visct. Knebworth Boxing xiv. 176 The beginner so often gets the idea that he is going to do the most weird and wonderful movements.

1962 Friend 3 Aug. 947/1 Nearly all the weird and wonderful decorations were provided by a decorator member of the club.

1978 S. Naipaul North of South ii. vi. 227 A weird and wonderful place is Jo'burg.

Compounds

weird-looking adj.

ΚΠ

1862 E. Johnston Gifts & Graces xix. 184 All the trees grim and shadowy, every familiar object weird-looking.

1867 Q. Rev. Oct. 437 The Prophet first pointed out a weird-looking creature, a turnkey.

1888 F. Hume Madame Midas i. Prol. 13 A cruel, weird-looking scene, fantastic, unreal, and bizarre as one of Doré's marvellous conceptions.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

weirdv.

Brit.

/wɪəd/, U.S.

/wɪ(ə)rd/, Scottish English

/wird/

Forms: Also Middle English weirrd, werd, wired, wiird, 1500s waird, 1700s weerd, 1800s wierd; 1600s past participle weard.

Etymology: < weird n.

Scottish and †northern.

1. transitive. To preordain by the decree of fate; esp. in passive to be destined or divinely appointed to, into, or unto (with infinitive or noun).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > predestine or predetermine [verb (transitive)]

shapea1000

dightc1000

besee1297

weirda1300

destinec1300

ordainc1390

ettlea1400

destinyc1400

eure1428

fortunec1430

foreordainc1440

order1532

preordain1533

predefine1542

prefine1545

destinate1548

fore-pointa1557

fore-appoint1561

pre-ordinate1565

foreset1573

forepurpose1581

sort1592

predestinate1593

predetermine1601

pre-appoint1603

forecall1613

fatea1616

predesign1630

predeterminate1637

pre-order1640

predestine1642

ordinate1850

foreordinate1858

preset1926

a1300 Cursor Mundi 23368 Ne hert mai think þaa ioies sere, þat iesus crist has dight til his, þat weirrded er vnto þe bliss.

a1300 Cursor Mundi 25225 All þe men þat werded es for to be broght into þi blis.

1678 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Prov. (ed. 2) 360 (Sc. Prov.) A man may wooe where he will, but he will wed where he is weard [(ed. 1) where his hap is].

1755 R. Forbes tr. Ovid Ajax his Speech (new ed.) 14 These darts that weerded were To tak the town o' Troy.

1885 J. Lumsden Rural Rhymes 236 Gin the gude Mr. Hootsman is weirdit to be married a third time neist week.

2. To assign to (a person) as his fate; to apportion as one's destiny or lot.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [verb (transitive)] > decree, appoint, allot, or assign

setc1000

spinc1374

weirdc1550

forlot1566

oss1600

foredoom1608

condemn1653

c1550 Clariodus (1830) i. 1030 The Waird Sisteris..wairdit me, gif ane knave chyld war I, That efter I was sevin ȝeiris old To be transformit in ane lyoun bold.

1802 in W. Scott Minstrelsy Sc. Border II. 93 I weird ye to a fiery beast, And relieved sall ye never be, Till [etc.].

1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 238 Say..what the doom sae dire, that thou Doest wierd to mine or me?

a1869 C. Spence From Braes of Carse (1898) 182 A lesson teaching poor and rich That nane should weird ill to a witch.

3. To warn or advise by the knowledge of coming fate.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > warning of imminent danger or evil > warn (a person) of imminent danger or evil [verb (transitive)] > by knowledge of fate

weird1806

1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 237 I wierd ye, gangna there!

1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads II. 174 I weird thee, to lat me be were best.

Derivatives

ˈweirded adj.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [adjective] > fated or predestined

born1357

destinablec1374

destinalc1374

fatalc1374

predestinatec1384

foreordainedc1420

ordinate?a1425

destiny?1473

preordinatea1475

prefinitec1475

pointed1523

predestined1545

determined1546

ordinated1562

predestinated1571

preordained?1580

fore-appointeda1586

predeterminate1601

predetermined1601

destinated1604

destinate1605

destined1609

predesigned1668

predefinite1678

cut and dry1710

fated1715

weirded1820

laid-down1839

foreordinated1858

predesignated1883

predestinatory1893

preset1926

predefined1929

predestine1962

bashert1963

1820 W. Scott Monastery II. iii^*. 140 Say, what hath forged thy wierded [footn. fated] link of destiny with the House of Avenel?

Categories »

ˈweirding n.

weirding peas n. peas employed in divination.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by natural phenomena > divination by food and drink > [noun] > peas used in divination

weirding peas1804

1804 W. Tarras Poems 68 Jock Din is to the yard right sly, To saw his wierdin piz.

Draft additions December 2003

transitive. slang (chiefly U.S.). to weird out: to induce a sense of discomfort, alienation, strangeness, etc., in; to make anxiously uncomfortable. Frequently in past participle. Cf. weirded out adj.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > upset or perturb [verb (transitive)]

to-wendc893

mingeOE

dreveOE

angerc1175

sturb?c1225

worec1225

troublec1230

sturble1303

disturbc1305

movea1325

disturblec1330

drubblea1340

drovec1350

distroublec1369

tempestc1374

outsturba1382

unresta1382

stroublec1384

unquietc1384

conturb1393

mismaya1400

unquemea1400

uneasec1400

discomfita1425

smite?a1425

perturbc1425

pertrouble?1435

inquiet1486

toss1526

alter1529

disquiet1530

turmoil1530

perturbate1533

broil1548

mis-set?1553

shake1567

parbruilyiec1586

agitate1587

roil1590

transpose1594

discompose1603

harrow1609

hurry1611

obturb1623

shog1636

untune1638

alarm1649

disorder1655

begruntlea1670

pother1692

disconcert1695

ruffle1701

tempestuate1702

rough1777

caddle1781

to put out1796

upset1805

discomfort1806

start1821

faze1830

bother1832

to put aback1833

to put about1843

raft1844

queer1845

rattle1865

to turn over1865

untranquillize1874

hack1881

rock1881

to shake up1884

to put off1909

to go (also pass) through a phase1913

to weird out1970

the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > worry > anxiety > be anxious about [verb (transitive)] > make anxious

carkc1330

vex?a1425

solicita1450

embusy1485

to lie heavy at or to one's hearta1616

to weird out1970

to stress out1983

1970 P. de Lissovoy Feelgood xvii. 177 It was weirding her out to have me around as a member of the house.

1979 L. Bangs Psychotic Reactions (1987) 285 I complained I was getting weirded out around other people because I never saw 'em because all I did was lay in bed with the covers over my head.

1990 San Francisco Chron. 7 Mar. e12/4 All he says is that the idea of two men Doing It really weirds him out—but..these remarks might be seen as encouraging..homophobia.

2002 N.Y. Times Mag. 16 June 51/3 I've been raising goats for years, I love them, so at first the idea of making them secrete spider silk kind of weirded me out.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

n.c725

adj.c1400

v.a1300

单词	weird
释义	weirdn. Brit. /wɪəd/, U.S. /wɪ(ə)rd/ Forms: Old English wyrd, Middle English wird, (Middle English wired, Middle English wirid), wirde, Middle English wyrde, (transmission error) word; Middle English wyerde, wierde, Middle English–1500s werd (Middle English werid), werde, Middle English– weird (Middle English Scottish veird), 1600s–1700s (1800s Scottish) wierd; Scottish1500s waird, 1500s–1600s weard, 1700s weerd. Etymology: Old English wyrd (feminine), = Old Saxon wurd (plural wurdi ), Old High German wurt , Old Norse urð-r , from the weak grade of the stem werþ- , warþ- , wurþ- to become: see worth v.¹The word is common in Old English, but wanting in Middle English until c1300, and then occurs chiefly in northern texts, though employed also by Chaucer, Gower, and Langland. The normal later and modern form would have been wird, and the substitution of werd, wērd (which is natural in south-eastern Middle English) is difficult to account for in the northern dialects. In senses now current the word is either Scottish or archaic (chiefly under the influence of Scottish writers). 1. a. The principle, power, or agency by which events are predetermined; fate, destiny. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] weirdc888 whatec1200 fortunea1300 cuta1340 destinyc1374 fatec1374 destin1590 jade1594 fatalitya1631 ananke1860 c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxix. §5 Ac þæt þæt we wyrd hatað, þæt bið Godes weorc þæt he ælce dæg wyrcð. OE Seafarer 115 Wyrd biþ swiþre, meotud meahtigra þonne ænges monnes gehygd. OE Beowulf 455 Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel! OE Beowulf 477 Hie wyrd forsweop on Grendles gryre. a1400–50 Wars Alex. 443 Þat sygnyfys þe same man þat sett is, be wird, So many prouynce to pas. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2134 Worþe hit wele oþer wo, as þe wyrde lykeȝ hit hafe. c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 249 What wyrde has hyder my iuel vayned. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 372 As werd will wyrk thi fortoun mon thou tak. c1585 A. Montgomerie Sonn. xxxiii. 1 Vhom suld I warie bot my wicked weard, Vha span my thriftles thrauard fatall threed? 1603 Philotus c. sig. D3^v Quhat wickit weird hes wrocht our wo? 1895 W. Morris & A. J. Wyatt tr. Tale of Beowulf 16 Weird wends as she willeth. 1895 W. Morris & A. J. Wyatt tr. Tale of Beowulf 17 Weird swept them away.] b. Magical power, enchantment. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun] sigaldry?c1225 enchantery1297 enchantment1297 charminga1300 chantmentc1300 chantinga1382 forspeaking1483 fairyc1515 bewitching1535 enchanting1553 fascination1572 eye-biting1584 sparrow-blasting1589 effascination1624 enchant1634 maleficiation1649 spelling1665 glamour1793 weird1813 glamoury1821 ensorcellment1931 1813 J. Hogg Queen's Wake i. viii. 82 He heard the word of awsome weird, And he saw their deedis of synn. 2. a. plural. The Fates, the three goddesses supposed to determine the course of human life. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > classical deity > [noun] > the Fates weirdsc725 ParcaeeOE the three sistersa1400 destiny14.. the Weird Sistersc1400 (the) fatal dames, ladies, sisters1552 the three Fatals1575 fate1600 the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > the (three) Fates weirdsc725 ParcaeeOE the three sistersa1400 (the) fatal dames, ladies, sisters1552 the three Fatals1575 fate1600 c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) P. 15 Parcae, wyrde. c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Hypermnestra. 19 The werdys that we clepyn destene Hath shapyn hire that she mot nedis be Pyetous sad. c1450 Crt. of Love 1173 I mene, the three of fatall destinè, That be our werdes. 1483 Cath. Angl. 420/2 Wyrdis, parce. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid i. i. 30 Gif werdis war nocht contrair [L. si qua fata sinant]. a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) iv. sig. Fii The werdes withstande [L. fata obstant]. a1585 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart 326 ‘Woe worth’, quoth the Weirds, ‘the wights that thee wroght!’ 1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. i. 5 And whilst from Phleg'ran fields, the weirds me call, I in Elisean plaines, am forc'd to fall. 1722 A. Ramsay Tale Three Bonnets ii. 13 Ye'r grown sae braw: now Weirds defend me. 1855 R. C. Singleton tr. Virgil Eclogues iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. I. 29 ‘Career ye on,’ Have to their spindles cried, in harmony With the unswerving will of fates, the Weirds [L. Parcae]. b. One pretending or supposed to have the power to foresee and to control future events; a witch or wizard, a soothsayer. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > soothsaying > [noun] > soothsayer soothsayer1381 Chaldee1382 ariole1398 ariolerc1475 bruterer1530 Chaldean1581 weird1625 ariolater1652 ariolist1652 1625 P. Heylyn Μικρόκοσμος (rev. ed.) 509 These two..were mette by three Fairies, or Witches (Weirds the Scots call them). 1654 R. Vilvain tr. Enchiridium Epigr. ii. lxxx The 2 Scots courtiers who met three Wierds or Witches which foretold their fortune. 1682 C. Irvine Hist. Sc. Nomencl. 12 Arioli. Weards, Sooth-sayers, or Second-sighted-men. 1834 A. Smart Rambling Rhymes 164 Puir auld wives..Were seized in Superstition's clutches, An' brunt to death for wierds an' witches. 1899 J. Spence Shetland Folk-lore 143 With this green nettle And cross of metal I witches and wierds defy. 3. a. That which is destined or fated to happen to a particular person, etc.; what one will do or suffer; one's appointed lot or fortune, destiny.Often in to dree one's weird: see dree v. Phrases 2. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [noun] > destiny or fate > a destiny weirdc725 sorta1325 fatality1589 fate1768 c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) S 433 Sortem, wyrd, condicionem. c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xl. §1 Ic wille secgan þæt ælc wyrd bio good, sam hio monnum good þinc, sam hio him yfel þince. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9968 Had neuer womman sa blisful wird..Als maria maiden. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3453 Strang weird was giuen to þam o were þat þai moght noght þair strif for-bere. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2418 Dalyda dalt hym hys wyrde. c1400 Ant. Arthur (Taylor) xvi ‘Ways me for thy wirde!’ cothe Waynor. ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 4680 Þai grett, þai sorowed þair sary werde. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 765 My waryed werd in warld I mon fullfill. 1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 109 Euerie ladie passit hame..Weipand full soir and wareand hir werd. 1563 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) lxiii It made myne iyes in very teares consume: When I beheld the wofull werd befall, That by the wrathful wyl of Gods was come. a1600 A. Montgomerie Misc. Poems xlvi. 31 They haif wroght my weird Vnhappiest on eird. 1718 A. Ramsay Christ's-kirk on Green iii. 26 It's a wise Wife that kens her wierd. a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1785) 138 Those Whase weird is still to creep, alas! Unnotic'd 'mang the humle grass. 1793 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 768 Let simple maid the lesson read, The wierd may be her ain. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xi, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 306 My weird maun be fulfilled, Mr. Butler. 1892 J. A. Henderson Ann. Lower Deeside 79 The weird of this kirk is that it will fall in time of worship. 1909 H. Belloc Marie Antoinette 255 It was one more of those hammer-blows of Fate exactly coincident with the sequence of the Queen's weird. b. plural (often in reference to a single person). ΘΚΠ the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > that which is ordained by fate > personal destiny or one's lot lotOE chance1297 fallc1300 weirds1320 cuta1340 fatec1374 vie1377 parta1382 foredoom1563 event1577 allotment1586 fatality1589 kincha1600 lines1611 fortunea1616 dispensation1704 the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [noun] > destiny or fate > a destiny > destinies weirds1320 1320–30 Horn Ch. 456 Wiif thai toke, and duelled thare; In Inglond com thai no mare, Her werdes for to bide. c1340 R. Rolle Psalter lxxiv. 5 Sum says it was my werdis; sum says the sterne of my birth gert me syn. c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1886) i. met. i. 1 The sorful wierdes of me olde man [L. maesti mea fata senis]. 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 94 Whan thei at mi nativite My weerdes setten as thei wolde. 1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. iv. 241 As hus werdes [v.r. wirdus] were ordeined. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15279 Þe gait it es al graid, He mai sai wirdes warid þat forwit him es laid. 14.. Guy Warw. (Cambr.) 1155 Jesu Cryste, what ys my redde? For my loue þese men be dedde; Sory wordys were me lente, To serue Felyce when y was sente. 14.. Guy Warw. (Cambr.) 7416 Harde wordys ys me beforne. 1423 Kingis Quair ix So vncouthly hir werdes sche deuideth. c1470 J. Hardyng Chron. lxxxv. iv Fortune, false executryse of weerdes [= Chaucer Troylus iii. 617], That euermore..To all debates thou strongly so enherdes. 1571 J. Maitland in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxvii. 102 Then warreitt war thy weirdis and wanhap. 1579 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) III. 140/1 That they can tell þair weardis deathis & fortunes. c. spec. An evil fate inflicted by supernatural power, esp. by way of retribution. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > [noun] > misfortune or ill-luck > an evil fate > inflicted by supernatural power weird1874 the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun] > spell > malignant enchantment or curse curse1382 taking1541 ban1603 malignation1652 bad mouth1832 brujería1838 weird1874 Indian sign1901 hex1909 whammy1940 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8981 Bot hard it es, þe wird o sin þat yarked was til adam kin!] 1874 ‘Ouida’ Two Wooden Shoes 132 Swallows do not tell their secrets. They have the weird of Procne on them all. 1877 R. C. Trench Lect. Med. Ch. Hist. 178 But a weird was upon him and upon his race. 1885 J. Ingelow Sleep of Sigismund 7 The weird is on him to grope in the dark with endless Weariful feet for a goal that shifteth still. 4. a. A happening, event, occurrence.Prov. after word comes weird, the mention of a thing is followed by its occurrence or appearance. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > occurrence or event weird971 redeOE thingOE limpc1200 casea1250 tidingc1275 timinga1325 being?c1400 incident?1462 advenement1490 occurrent1523 accidenta1525 occurrence1539 affair1550 event1554 happening1561 événement1567 success1588 betide1590 circumstance1592 arrivage1603 eveniency1660 occurrency1671 betider1674 befalling1839 whet1849 intermezzo1851 transpiration1908 971 Blickl. Hom. 221 Þa gelamp wundorlic wyrd þæt se leg ongan slean & brecan ongean þone wind. OE Crist I 81 Ne we soðlice swylc ne gefrugnan in ærdagum æfre gelimpan, þæt ðu in sundurgiefe swylce befenge, ne we þære wyrde wenan þurfon toweard in tide. 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 340 It were a wonder wierde To sen a king become an hierde. ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 5459 It befell' þis wondir werde. 1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 2 After Word comes Weird; fair fall them that call me Madam. 1883 H. Caine Shadow of Crime xxxvi Weel, weel; after word comes weird. That's why the constables are gone, and that's why Robbie's come. b. That which is destined or fated to happen; predetermined events collectively. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [noun] > destiny or fate whatec1200 gracec1325 destiny1340 portionc1350 sortc1405 weird1508 dolec1520 foredoom1563 fate1667 destinate1675 fatality1699 kismet1849 ultimatum1861 foredestiny1872 ming1937 1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. cvi^v Thair wil nane wyis that ar wis wary the werd. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. vii. 48 Bot we from werd to werd and chance mon wend. 1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd i. 3 A tale that the elders have told, A story of weird and of woe. 5. †a. A decree (of a god). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > a decree of fate ordinance1340 weirda1400 pre-ordinance1486 foreordinance1530 fore-purpose1551 ordainment1605 foreordination1620 fatality1763 society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > Old Testament > [noun] > Mosaic dispensation > decalogue > one of commandmentc1325 weirda1400 statutec1430 law-word1645 command1667 a1400–50 Wars Alex. 270 Þe werdes Of my gracious goddis, þe grettest on erde. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xii. 202 And thou, Tellus, mast nobill God of erd, Hald fast the speris hed by ȝour werd. †b. An omen or token significant of the nature of a future event; a prognostic. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > an omen, sign, portent > [noun] foretokenc888 tokeningc888 beaconc950 token971 handsela1200 boding1297 wonder1297 bodec1374 signa1387 foreboding1387 prenostica1393 prognosticc1425 prophetc1430 prognostication?a1439 ostentationa1450 prenostication?a1450 prodigy?a1450 augurationc1450 preparative1460 prenosticate?a1475 prenosticative?a1475 prodige1482 prenosticature1490 tokener1513 weird1513 show token1535 luck1538 prognosticate1541 preamble1548 proffer1548 presagition?c1550 foreshower1555 presage1560 portent1562 ostent1570 presagie1581 omen1582 presagement1586 luck sign1587 augury1588 prognosticon1588 forerunner1589 presager1591 halfner1594 spae1596 abode1598 oss1600 assign1601 augur1603 bodement1613 predictiona1616 prognosticala1618 bespeaker1624 portender1635 pre-indicant1659 foreshadow1834 boder1846 prognosticant1880 sky sign1880 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xiii. 150 Jove..bad hir hald doun baldly to the erd, For to resist Juturnais ire and werd [L. omen]. 1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1903) II. 233 Þe senat..said þai acceppit þe weird þat followit one þir wourdis. c. A prediction of the fate which is to happen to a person; etc.; a prophecy. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > [noun] > an inspired prophecy visionc1290 prophecyc1330 vaticiny1587 destiny1602 vaticination1603 prevision1635 weird1785 1785 Select Coll. Poems Buchan Dial. 18 Altho' his mither, in her weirds, Foretald his death at Troy. 1802 C. Gray Poems (1811) 73 Then, as to his fortin tellin',..he ne'er liket to be sellin' His weird for wind. d. A supernatural or marvellous occurrence or tale. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [noun] > event wonderc950 miraclec1390 marl1604 phenomenon1741 weird1814 sensation1860 masterpiece1933 wipeout1968 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > telling strange stories > [noun] > wonderful or strange story unco1786 weird1814 1814 W. Nicholson Tales in Verse 2 [She] Could tell her tale or lilt her sang,..Wi' weirds an' witch'ries aft atween, An' unco sights that some had seen. a1859 A. Tait in Jas. Watson Living Bards of Border 151 What legends and weirds these fair scenes still awaken. Compounds C1. General attributive. weird-fixed adj. ΚΠ 1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 181 Now was come the weird-fix't hour Ordain'd to break the Papish power. weird-set adj. ΚΠ 1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 46 The weird-set day begins to daw. C2. weird-licht n. Scottish the light of destiny. ΚΠ 1844 W. Thom Rhymes & Recoll. 54 There's a bricht e'e looks love to me, Like the weird licht o'er me shining. † weird-man n. Obsolete a seer. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > [noun] > a prophet or seer witiec897 seera1382 before-speakerc1400 prophesier1477 spaeman?a1505 vaticinarc1550 destinator1579 mantist1588 vident1588 vates1625 fatary1652 faticane1652 vaticinator1652 visionist1665 visionary1706 visioner1716 weird-man1806 spaer1820 spae-wright1876 percipient1883 1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 238 ‘Dire is the doom’, the wierd-man said; ‘Nae mair, O lady, speir!’ weird-woman n. a witch. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > sorcerer or magician > witch > [noun] walkyrieOE witchOE hagc1230 strya1300 wise woman1382 sorceressc1384 luller14.. tylyester14.. chantressc1425 magicienne1490 gyre-carline1535 witch-womana1538 eye-biter1584 beldama1586 witch-wife1591 cunning woman1594 saga?a1600 magha1609 magicianess1651 hag-witcha1658 haggard1658 besom-rider1664 wizardess1789 fly-by-night1796 lucky1827 bruja1829 weird-woman1845 hex1856 Baba Yaga1857 pishogue1906 witcher1928 1845 J. E. Carpenter Poems & Lyrics 34 The weird-woman had stol'n away. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online March 2022). weirdadj. Brit. /wɪəd/, U.S. /wɪ(ə)rd/ Forms: Also Middle English wyrde, Middle English–1500s Scottish werd(e, 1500s veird, 1600s weyard ( weyward), weer'd, 1700s weïrd, 1800s weerd. Etymology: Originally an attributive use of weird n. in weird sisters (see sense 1), the later currency and adjectival use being derived from the occurrence of this in the story of Macbeth. The evolution of the forms found in Shakespeare's Macbeth was apparently fromweyrd to weyard* (retained in Acts iii and iv in the First Folio) and weyward (used in Acts i and ii); the latter was no doubt due to association with wayward , a word used many times by Shakespeare. (The later folios retain the weyward spelling, and alter the other to this or to wizard .) In several passages the prosody clearly requires the word to be pronounced as two syllables; hence Theobald's use of the diæresis in his emendation weïrd (see quot. 1733 at sense 1 below), giving rise to the scansion of quot. 1755 at sense 1, and quot. 1820 at sense 4a. 1. Having the power to control the fate or destiny of human beings, etc.; later, claiming the supernatural power of dealing with fate or destiny.Originally in the Weird Sisters = †(a) the Fates; (b) the witches in Macbeth. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > classical deity > [noun] > the Fates weirdsc725 ParcaeeOE the three sistersa1400 destiny14.. the Weird Sistersc1400 (the) fatal dames, ladies, sisters1552 the three Fatals1575 fate1600 the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [adjective] > having the power to control fate weirdc1400 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > [adjective] witiec897 weirdc1400 propheticalc1450 propheticc1484 vaticinant1490 fatal?1504 spaeing?a1505 vaticinal1587 mantical1588 vatical1594 vatic1603 fatidical1608 vaticinating1634 fatiloquent1656 vaticinian1656 fatidic1671 fateful1720 vaticinatric1729 seer-like1816 mantic1839 fatidicating1867 vaticinatory1883 c1400 Sc. Trojan War ii. 2818 Vþeris said sche was, I trow, A werde-sister, I wait neuir how. c1420 Wyntoun Cron. vi. xviii. 1862 Þa women þan thoucht he Thre werd systeris mast lyk to be. c1475 Cath. Angl. (Add. MS.) 420/2 Wyrde systres, parce. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid v. xiii. 74 Admit myne asking, gif so the fatis gidis,..Or ȝit werd sisteris list gif thaim that cuntre. c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 50 The tail of the thre veird systirs. 1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Scotl. 243/2 (margin) in Chron. I The prophesie of three women supposing to be the weird sisters or feiries. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. iii. 30 The weyward Sisters, hand in hand,..Thus doe goe, about, about. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. i. 2 Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, As the weyard Women promis'd. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. iv. 132 I will to morrow..to the weyard Sisters. View more context for this quotation 1693 T. Urquhart & P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 3rd Bk. Wks. xxviii. 237 The weer'd Sister Parques. 1733 L. Theobald Wks. Shakespeare V. 393 (note) In every passage..my Emendation must be embraced and we must read weïrd [1740 Wierd, or Weïrd]. 1755 J. G. Cooper Tomb Shakspeare 99 Where three swart sisters of the weïrd band Were mutt'ring curses to the troublous wind. 1765 Birth of St. George 47 in Percy Reliq. III. 218 To the weïrd lady of the woods He purpos'd to repaire. 1807 Salmagundi 18 Apr. 151 He had rather see one of the weird sisters flourish through his key-hole on a broom-stick. a1822 P. B. Shelley Let. to — in Posthumous Poems (1824) 62 And here, like some weïrd Archimage sit I, Plotting dark spells. a1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets (1857) v. 189 The weird woman with beards meet to seal the deep damnation of their victim. 2. a. Partaking of or suggestive of the supernatural; of a mysterious or unearthly character; unaccountably or uncomfortably strange; uncanny. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > [adjective] > uncanny eldritch1508 eerie1792 erlisha1802 unearthly1802 weird1817 pokerish1825 weirdly1831 uncanny1843 spooky1854 weird-like1854 wisht1872 unheimlichc1877 weirdsome1885 1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna ix. viii. 197 Some said, I was a fiend from my weird cave, Who had stolen human shape. a1822 P. B. Shelley Witch of Atlas lxxviii, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 55 It is A tale more fit for the weïrd winter nights—Than for these garish summer days. 1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. xiii. 168 This solitude has something in it weird and awful. 1851 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 4) i. 14 Myself too had weird seizures, Heaven knows what. 1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. i. 3 Both men then looked with a weird unholy interest at the wake of Gaffer's boat. 1878 H. W. Lucy Diary Two Parl.: Disraeli (1885) 393 I hear a weird story in connection with the private history of the family. absolute.1888 Daily News 30 Aug. 4/7 Miss Seward, according to Sir Walter Scott, was a mistress of the weird in oral narrative.1899 G. Douglas James Hogg v. 101 Unlike the German's, Hogg's ‘weird’ is seldom or never morbid, fevered, hectic. b. of sounds or voices. ΚΠ 1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 3 In lone and silent hours, When night makes a weird sound of its own stillness. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. ii. 11 The weird rattle of the débris which fell at intervals. 1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. ii. i. 168 The person of the house gave a weird little laugh here. 1876 S. Smiles Life Sc. Naturalist vi. 100 He was awakened by a weird and unearthly moaning. 3. Of strange or unusual appearance, odd-looking. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective] > strange > specifically in appearance uncouth1513 odd1596 wilda1616 weird1816 1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 31 Mutable As shapes in the weird clouds. 1861 H. Macmillan Footnotes from Nature 23 The soft yielding carpets of greenest verdure and weirdest patterns, woven by these tiny plants on the floor of shadowy old forests. 1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. Prel. 3 He begins to people the weird places of the earth with weird beings. 1907 A. Robertson in Trans. Devon Assoc. 53 Bampfylde Moore Carew, King of the Gipsies, [not] the only weird, extravagant figure that has moved across Devon's stage. 4. a. Out of the ordinary course, strange, unusual; hence, odd, fantastic. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective] > bizarre remote1533 antic1579 outlandish1588 bizarrea1648 outré1722 freakish1805 weird1820 freaky1824 weirdish1863 ostrobogulous1951 ostrobogulatory1952 far-out1954 weirdo1962 flaky1972 zonky1972 gonzo1974 mondo bizarro1976 mondo1979 woo-woo1986 freakazoid1990 1820 J. Keats Lamia i, in Lamia & Other Poems 9 I..bade her steep Her hair in weïrd syrops, that would keep Her loveliness invisible. 1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton King Arthur ii. xxxvi The prophet up the plain, Gathering weird simples, pass'd. 1855 C. Dickens Holly-tree Inn: Guest in Househ. Words Extra Christmas No. 5/2 He was a man with a weird belief in him that no one could count the stones of Stonehenge twice, and make the same number of them. 1912 Eng. Hist. Rev. Oct. 833 The ‘Guacciadim’ of p. 140 is a weird misprint for Guicciardini. b. Colloquial phrase weird and wonderful, marvellous in a strange or eccentric way; both remarkable and peculiar or unfathomable; exotic, outlandish. Frequently ironical or derogatory. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [adjective] > with quality of strangeness selcouthc888 uncouthc900 sellya1000 ferly?c1225 strangec1374 nicec1395 ferlifula1400 monsterfulc1460 portentous1553 miraculous1569 vengible1594 strangefula1618 phenomenous1743 phenomenala1850 very like a whale1859 weird and wonderful1859 fourth-dimensional1902 out of this world1941 unreal1965 1859 J. H. Stirling in Meliora 1 231 These [poems] are doubtless meant to be very weird and wonderful, but they are mere breath, and..barren as the wind. 1886 O. Wilde in Pall Mall Gaz. 1 Feb. 5/1 There is psychology of a weird and wonderful kind. 1908 T. E. Lawrence Let. 9 Aug. in T. E. Lawrence et al. Home Lett. (1954) 70 Their food is weird and wonderful. 1946 Visct. Knebworth Boxing xiv. 176 The beginner so often gets the idea that he is going to do the most weird and wonderful movements. 1962 Friend 3 Aug. 947/1 Nearly all the weird and wonderful decorations were provided by a decorator member of the club. 1978 S. Naipaul North of South ii. vi. 227 A weird and wonderful place is Jo'burg. Compounds weird-looking adj. ΚΠ 1862 E. Johnston Gifts & Graces xix. 184 All the trees grim and shadowy, every familiar object weird-looking. 1867 Q. Rev. Oct. 437 The Prophet first pointed out a weird-looking creature, a turnkey. 1888 F. Hume Madame Midas i. Prol. 13 A cruel, weird-looking scene, fantastic, unreal, and bizarre as one of Doré's marvellous conceptions. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021). weirdv. Brit. /wɪəd/, U.S. /wɪ(ə)rd/, Scottish English /wird/ Forms: Also Middle English weirrd, werd, wired, wiird, 1500s waird, 1700s weerd, 1800s wierd; 1600s past participle weard. Etymology: < weird n. Scottish and †northern. 1. transitive. To preordain by the decree of fate; esp. in passive to be destined or divinely appointed to, into, or unto (with infinitive or noun). ΘΚΠ the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > predestine or predetermine [verb (transitive)] shapea1000 dightc1000 besee1297 weirda1300 destinec1300 ordainc1390 ettlea1400 destinyc1400 eure1428 fortunec1430 foreordainc1440 order1532 preordain1533 predefine1542 prefine1545 destinate1548 fore-pointa1557 fore-appoint1561 pre-ordinate1565 foreset1573 forepurpose1581 sort1592 predestinate1593 predetermine1601 pre-appoint1603 forecall1613 fatea1616 predesign1630 predeterminate1637 pre-order1640 predestine1642 ordinate1850 foreordinate1858 preset1926 a1300 Cursor Mundi 23368 Ne hert mai think þaa ioies sere, þat iesus crist has dight til his, þat weirrded er vnto þe bliss. a1300 Cursor Mundi 25225 All þe men þat werded es for to be broght into þi blis. 1678 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Prov. (ed. 2) 360 (Sc. Prov.) A man may wooe where he will, but he will wed where he is weard [(ed. 1) where his hap is]. 1755 R. Forbes tr. Ovid Ajax his Speech (new ed.) 14 These darts that weerded were To tak the town o' Troy. 1885 J. Lumsden Rural Rhymes 236 Gin the gude Mr. Hootsman is weirdit to be married a third time neist week. 2. To assign to (a person) as his fate; to apportion as one's destiny or lot. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [verb (transitive)] > decree, appoint, allot, or assign setc1000 spinc1374 weirdc1550 forlot1566 oss1600 foredoom1608 condemn1653 c1550 Clariodus (1830) i. 1030 The Waird Sisteris..wairdit me, gif ane knave chyld war I, That efter I was sevin ȝeiris old To be transformit in ane lyoun bold. 1802 in W. Scott Minstrelsy Sc. Border II. 93 I weird ye to a fiery beast, And relieved sall ye never be, Till [etc.]. 1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 238 Say..what the doom sae dire, that thou Doest wierd to mine or me? a1869 C. Spence From Braes of Carse (1898) 182 A lesson teaching poor and rich That nane should weird ill to a witch. 3. To warn or advise by the knowledge of coming fate. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > warning of imminent danger or evil > warn (a person) of imminent danger or evil [verb (transitive)] > by knowledge of fate weird1806 1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 237 I wierd ye, gangna there! 1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads II. 174 I weird thee, to lat me be were best. Derivatives ˈweirded adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [adjective] > fated or predestined born1357 destinablec1374 destinalc1374 fatalc1374 predestinatec1384 foreordainedc1420 ordinate?a1425 destiny?1473 preordinatea1475 prefinitec1475 pointed1523 predestined1545 determined1546 ordinated1562 predestinated1571 preordained?1580 fore-appointeda1586 predeterminate1601 predetermined1601 destinated1604 destinate1605 destined1609 predesigned1668 predefinite1678 cut and dry1710 fated1715 weirded1820 laid-down1839 foreordinated1858 predesignated1883 predestinatory1893 preset1926 predefined1929 predestine1962 bashert1963 1820 W. Scott Monastery II. iii^. 140 Say, what hath forged thy wierded [footn. fated] link of destiny with the House of Avenel? Categories » ˈweirding n. weirding peas n. peas employed in divination. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by natural phenomena > divination by food and drink > [noun] > peas used in divination weirding peas1804 1804 W. Tarras Poems* 68 Jock Din is to the yard right sly, To saw his wierdin piz. Draft additions December 2003 transitive. slang (chiefly U.S.). to weird out: to induce a sense of discomfort, alienation, strangeness, etc., in; to make anxiously uncomfortable. Frequently in past participle. Cf. weirded out adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > upset or perturb [verb (transitive)] to-wendc893 mingeOE dreveOE angerc1175 sturb?c1225 worec1225 troublec1230 sturble1303 disturbc1305 movea1325 disturblec1330 drubblea1340 drovec1350 distroublec1369 tempestc1374 outsturba1382 unresta1382 stroublec1384 unquietc1384 conturb1393 mismaya1400 unquemea1400 uneasec1400 discomfita1425 smite?a1425 perturbc1425 pertrouble?1435 inquiet1486 toss1526 alter1529 disquiet1530 turmoil1530 perturbate1533 broil1548 mis-set?1553 shake1567 parbruilyiec1586 agitate1587 roil1590 transpose1594 discompose1603 harrow1609 hurry1611 obturb1623 shog1636 untune1638 alarm1649 disorder1655 begruntlea1670 pother1692 disconcert1695 ruffle1701 tempestuate1702 rough1777 caddle1781 to put out1796 upset1805 discomfort1806 start1821 faze1830 bother1832 to put aback1833 to put about1843 raft1844 queer1845 rattle1865 to turn over1865 untranquillize1874 hack1881 rock1881 to shake up1884 to put off1909 to go (also pass) through a phase1913 to weird out1970 the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > worry > anxiety > be anxious about [verb (transitive)] > make anxious carkc1330 vex?a1425 solicita1450 embusy1485 to lie heavy at or to one's hearta1616 to weird out1970 to stress out1983 1970 P. de Lissovoy Feelgood xvii. 177 It was weirding her out to have me around as a member of the house. 1979 L. Bangs Psychotic Reactions (1987) 285 I complained I was getting weirded out around other people because I never saw 'em because all I did was lay in bed with the covers over my head. 1990 San Francisco Chron. 7 Mar. e12/4 All he says is that the idea of two men Doing It really weirds him out—but..these remarks might be seen as encouraging..homophobia. 2002 N.Y. Times Mag. 16 June 51/3 I've been raising goats for years, I love them, so at first the idea of making them secrete spider silk kind of weirded me out. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < n.c725adj.c1400v.a1300
随便看	stowage room stowage space stowages stowaway stowaways stowball stowblade stowboard strengthened strengthener strengtheners strengthening strengthens strengthful strengthfully strengthfulness strengthgiver strengthgiving strengthily strengthincreasing strengthing strengthinspiring strengthless strengthlessly strengthlessness