oddity

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odd·i·ty

(ŏd′ĭ-tē)

n. pl. odd·i·ties

1. One that is odd.

2. The state or quality of being odd; strangeness.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

oddity

(ˈɒdɪtɪ)

n, pl -ties

1. an odd person or thing

2. an odd quality or characteristic

3. the condition of being odd

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

odd•i•ty

(ˈɒd ɪ ti)

n., pl. -ties.

1. an odd or remarkably unusual person, thing, or event.

2. an odd characteristic or trait; peculiarity.

3. the quality of being odd; strangeness or eccentricity.

[1705–15]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	oddity - eccentricity that is not easily explained oddness eccentricity - strange and unconventional behavior
	2.	oddity - a strange attitude or habit queerness, quirk, quirkiness, crotchet strangeness, unfamiliarity - unusualness as a consequence of not being well known
	3.	oddity - something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting curio, curiosity, oddment, peculiarity, rarity object, physical object - a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow; "it was full of rackets, balls and other objects" bric-a-brac, knickknackery, nicknack, whatnot, knickknack - miscellaneous curios collectable, collectible - things considered to be worth collecting (not necessarily valuable or antique) collector's item, piece de resistance, showpiece - the outstanding item (the prize piece or main exhibit) in a collection

oddity

noun

1. misfit, eccentric, crank (informal), nut (slang), maverick, flake (slang, chiefly U.S.), oddball (informal), loose cannon, nonconformist, odd man out, wacko (slang), screwball (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), card (informal), fish out of water, square peg (in a round hole) (informal), odd fish (Brit. informal), odd bird (informal), rara avis, weirdo or weirdie (informal) He's a bit of an oddity, but quite harmless.

2. anomaly, exception, curiosity, abnormality, rarity, departure, deviation His book remains something of an oddity.

3. strangeness, abnormality, peculiarity, eccentricity, weirdness, singularity, incongruity, oddness, unconventionality, queerness, unnaturalness, bizarreness, freakishness, extraordinariness, outlandishness I was struck by the oddity of this question.

4. irregularity, phenomenon, anomaly, freak, abnormality, rarity, quirk, eccentricity, kink, peculiarity, idiosyncrasy, singularity, unorthodoxy, unconventionality the oddities of the Welsh legal system

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

oddity

noun

A person who is appealingly odd or curious:

character, original.

Informal: card, oddball.

Translations

غَرابَه، شَخْص غَريب الأطْوار

særhed

Skurrilität

excentrique

furîufugl; furîuhlutur

bizzaria originale singolarità stranezza

raring

antikanın tekituhaf kimse

古怪的事物怪人

oddity

[ˈɒdɪtɪ] N

1. (= odd thing) → cosa f rara; (= odd trait) → manía f
he has his oddities → tiene sus manías
he's a real oddity → es un tipo realmente raro
one of the oddities of the situation → uno de los aspectos raros de la situación

2. (= strangeness) → rareza f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

oddity

[ˈɒdɪti] n

(= odd thing) → curiosité f
to be an oddity (= out of the ordinary) → être une curiosité

(= odd characteristic) → bizarrerie fodd-job man [ˌɒdˈdʒɒbmæn] n → homme m à tout faireodd jobs npl → travaux mpl diversodd-looking [ˈɒdlʊkɪŋ] adj [person, thing] → curieux/euse
They were an odd-looking couple → Ils formaient un couple curieux.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

oddity

(= strangeness) (of person) → Wunderlichkeit f, → Absonderlichkeit f, → Eigenartigkeit f; (= strangeness: of thing) → Ausgefallenheit f

(= odd person) → komischer Kauz or Vogel; (who doesn’t fit) → Kuriosität f; (= odd thing) → Kuriosität f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

oddity

[ˈɒdɪtɪ] n

a. (also oddness) → stranezza, bizzarria

b. (person) → originale m/f

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

odd

(od) adjective

1. unusual; strange. He's wearing very odd clothes; a very odd young man.

2. (of a number) that cannot be divided exactly by 2. 5 and 7 are odd (numbers).

3. not one of a pair, set etc. an odd shoe.

4. occasional; free. at odd moments.

ˈoddity – plural ˈoddities – noun

a strange person or thing. He's a bit of an oddity.

ˈoddly adverb

strangely. He is behaving very oddly.

ˈoddment noun

a piece left over from something. an oddment of material.

odds noun plural

1. chances; probability. The odds are that he will win.

2. a difference in strength, in favour of one side. They are fighting against heavy odds.

odd jobs

(usually small) jobs of various kinds, often done for other people. He's unemployed, but earns some money by doing odd jobs for old people.

odd job man

a person employed to do such jobs.

be at odds

to be quarrelling. He has been at odds with his brother for years.

make no odds

to be unimportant. We haven't got much money, but that makes no odds.

oddly enough

it is strange or remarkable (that). I saw John this morning. Oddly enough, I was just thinking I hadn't seen him for a long time.

odd man out / odd one out

1. a person or thing that is different from others. In this test, you have to decide which of these three objects is the odd one out.

2. a person or thing that is left over when teams etc are made up. When they chose the two teams, I was the odd man out.

odds and ends

small objects etc of different kinds. There were various odds and ends lying about on the table.

what's the odds?

it's not important; it doesn't matter. We didn't win the competition but what's the odds?

References in classic literature ?

"That's the fifth oddity hatched in my ward since noon.

"Oh, the Hive subsists on the Hival Honey which the Hive produces," said a blind Oddity squatting in a store-cell.

View in context

This barber, who went by the name of Little Benjamin, was a fellow of great oddity and humour, which had frequently let him into small inconveniencies, such as slaps in the face, kicks in the breech, broken bones, &c.

View in context

Sir Francis Cromarty had observed the oddity of his travelling companion--although the only opportunity he had for studying him had been while he was dealing the cards, and between two rubbers--and questioned himself whether a human heart really beat beneath this cold exterior, and whether Phileas Fogg had any sense of the beauties of nature.

View in context

'The circulation, sir,' returned Bitzer, smiling at the oddity of the question, 'couldn't be carried on without one.

View in context

It had always been marked by a subdued affectionate deference that seemed to have sprung up on the very day of his engagement; whatever was odd in her dress or her ways had seemed to have no oddity for him; he had sometimes borne a quietly-amused face in her company, but still it had seemed as if the pleasure her genial temper and radiant nature yielded him, could have been quite as naturally expressed in a tear as in a smile.

View in context

Grafted upon the quaintness and oddity of his appearance, was something so indescribably engaging, and bespeaking so much worth, and there were so many little lights hovering about the corners of his mouth and eyes, that it was not a mere amusement, but a positive pleasure and delight to look at him.

It is sufficient to state, in brief, that Mr Timothy Linkinwater arrived, punctual to his appointment; that, oddity as he was, and jealous, as he was bound to be, of the proper exercise of his employers' most comprehensive liberality, he reported strongly and warmly in favour of Nicholas; and that, next day, he was appointed to the vacant stool in the counting-house of Cheeryble, Brothers, with a present salary of one hundred and twenty pounds a year.

View in context

This time they had a third oddity. Previously the unknown man had walked, with levity indeed and lightning quickness, but he had walked.

View in context

Well, he's an eccentric man - a fair oddity - if ye ken the expression.

View in context

"Might I trouble you, Sir, to tell us the nearest way to Outland!" Oddity as he was, in outward appearance, the Professor was, in that essential nature which no outward disguise could conceal, a thorough gentleman.

View in context

Welland agreed, as if allowing for an inherited oddity; and after that the question of Newland's unemployment was tacitly dropped.

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