View source for lusus naturae

{{also|lusus naturæ|lusûs naturæ}}

==English==

===Etymology===
{{ubor|en|la|lūsus nātūrae|t=sport of Nature}},<ref name="OED">“[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50137094 ‖lusus naturæ]” listed in the '''Oxford English Dictionary''' [2<sup>nd</sup> Ed.; 1989]</ref> from {{m|la|lūsus||playing”, “sport}}<ref name="OED"/> + {{m|la|nātūrae|t=of Nature}}, genitive singular of {{m|la|nātūra|t=Nature}}. Plural from {{m|la|lūsūs nātūræ|t=sports of Nature}}, from {{m|la|lūsūs|t=playings”, “sports}}.

===Pronunciation===
; singular
* {{enPR|lo͞oʹsəs nətyo͝oəʹrē|lyo͞oʹsəs nətyo͝oəʹrē|a=RP}}, {{IPA|en|/ˈluːsəs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/}},<ref name="OED"/> {{IPAchar|/ˈljuːsəs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/}},<ref name="OED"/>
; plural
* {{enPR|lo͞oʹso͞os nətyo͝oəʹrē|lyo͞oʹso͞os nətyo͝oəʹrē|a=RP}}, {{IPA|en|/ˈluːsuːs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/|/ˈljuːsuːs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/}}

===Noun===
{{en-noun|lusus naturae|nolinkhead=1}}

# {{lb|en|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]].
#* {{quote-text|en|year=1665|author=w:Robert Hooke|title=Micrographia|section=XXII
|passage=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.}}
# {{lb|en|countable}} An organism [[exhibit]]ing marked such [[deviation]] from the [[norm]], seeming to be the result of [[sportive]] design; a [[freak]] of [[nature]].

====Alternative forms====
* ''[[lusus naturæ]]'' {{qualifier|rare|archaic|singular and plural}}
* ''[[lusûs naturæ]]'' {{qualifier|rare|nonstandard|archaic|plural only}}

====Synonyms====
* {{sense|capricious act of Nature}} {{l|en|God's joke}}
* {{sense|variant of seemingly sportive design}} {{l|en|freak of nature}}; [[lusus]] {{q|dated, 19 the century}}<ref name="OED"/>

===References===
<references/>

{{cln|en|learned borrowings from Latin}}

==Latin==

===Noun===
{{la-noun|[[lūsus]]<4> [[natura|nātūrae]]}}

# a [[deformed]] or strangely [[marked]] [[creature]]; a [[freak]]

====Declension====
{{la-ndecl|lūsus<4> nātūrae}}