lusus naturae

See also: lusus naturæ and lusûs naturæ

English

Etymology

From Latin lūsus nātūrae (“sport of Nature”), from lūsus (“playing”, “sport”) + nātūrae (“of Nature”), genitive singular of nātūra (“Nature”). Plural from Latin lūsūs nātūræ (“sports of Nature”), from lūsūs (“playings”, “sports”).

Pronunciation

singular

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: lo͞oʹsəs nətyo͝oəʹrē, lyo͞oʹsəs nətyo͝oəʹrē, IPA^(key): /ˈluːsəs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/, /ˈljuːsəs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/,

plural

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: lo͞oʹso͞os nətyo͝oəʹrē, lyo͞oʹso͞os nətyo͝oəʹrē, IPA^(key): /ˈluːsuːs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/, /ˈljuːsuːs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/

Noun

lusus naturae (plural lusus naturae)

1. (historical, originally) A sportive quality in Nature to which abnormal forms were formerly ascribed; a supposed capricious act of Nature regarded as the cause and origin of anomalies in a given organism.
   • 1665, Robert Hooke, Micrographia, section XXII:

     I have observ'd some meshes to have 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. sides, and some to have onely one, so exceeding various is the Lusus Naturæ in this body.

2. (countable) An organism exhibiting marked such deviation from the norm, seeming to be the result of sportive design; a freak of nature.

Alternative forms

• lusus naturæ (rare, archaic, singular and plural)
• lusûs naturæ (rare, nonstandard, archaic, plural only)

Synonyms

• (capricious act of Nature): God's joke
• (variant of seemingly sportive design): freak of nature; lusus (dated, 19 the century)

Latin

Noun

lūsus nātūrae m (genitive lūsūs nātūrae); fourth declension

1. a deformed or strangely marked creature; a freak

Declension

Fourth-declension noun with an indeclinable portion.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	lūsus nātūrae	lūsūs nātūrae
Genitive	lūsūs nātūrae	lūsuum nātūrae
Dative	lūsuī nātūrae	lūsibus nātūrae
Accusative	lūsum nātūrae	lūsūs nātūrae
Ablative	lūsū nātūrae	lūsibus nātūrae
Vocative	lūsus nātūrae	lūsūs nātūrae