heteroclite

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[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From late Latin heteroclitus, from Ancient Greek ἑτερόκλιτος (heteróklitos), from ἕτερος (héteros), other, another, different) + κλίνω (klínō), lean, incline), the latter from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-.

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈhɛtərəʊklaɪt/

[edit] Adjective

heteroclite (comparative more heteroclite, superlative most heteroclite)

Positive
heteroclite

Comparative
more heteroclite

Superlative
most heteroclite

  1. Deviating from the ordinary rule; eccentric, abnormal.
    • 1759: he was, on the contrary, as mercurial and sublimated a composition,----as heteroclite a creature in all his declensions; -----with as much life and whim, and gaité de cœur about him, as the kindliest climate could have engendered and put together. — Laurence Sterne, The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (Penguin 2003, p. 24)
    • 1997: Nor could I have dreamed the heteroclite crew-men I had met aboard Tzadkiel's ship ... — Gene Wolfe, The Urth of the New Sun
  2. (grammar) Being irregularly declined or inflected.

[edit] Related terms

[edit] See also

[edit] Noun

Singular
heteroclite

Plural
heteroclites

heteroclite (plural heteroclites)

  1. A person who is unconventional; a maverick
  2. (grammar) An irregularly declined or inflected word
  3. (linguistics) A word whose etymological roots come from distinct, different languages or language groups.

[edit] Related terms