weird

weird
[wɪəd]
adjective
1》 suggesting something supernatural; uncanny.
    ↘informal very strange; bizarre.
2》 archaic connected with fate.
noun archaic, chiefly Scottish a person's destiny.
verb (weird someone out) N. Amer. informal induce a sense of disbelief or alienation in someone.
Derivatives
weirdly adverb
weirdness noun
Word History
In Old English weird, then spelled wyrd, was a noun meaning 'destiny, fate', or, in the plural, 'the Fates' (the three goddesses supposed to determine the course of human life); it also meant 'an event or occurrence'. The adjective, first recorded in Middle English, meant 'having the power to control destiny', and was used especially in the phrase the Weird Sisters (originally meaning the Fates, later applied to the witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth). The modern sense 'uncanny, strange' did not develop until the early 19th century.

English new terms dictionary. 2014.

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  • Weird — may refer to:* odd, uncanny , see surreal humour, mental confusion, freak, surprise (emotion) *Wyrd, the Germanic concept of fate; Weird Sisters, the Germanic Fates * Weird (Hilary Duff song) * Weird (Hanson song) *Weird (comics), a fictional DC… …   Wikipedia

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  • weird — S2 [wıəd US wırd] adj [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: weird what happens to a person in life, fate, (bad) luck (11 18 centuries), from Old English wyrd] informal very strange and unusual, and difficult to understand or explain ▪ A really weird thing… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • weird — [ wırd ] adjective * strange and unusual, sometimes in a way that upsets you: I had a weird dream last night. The weird thing is, nobody else noticed. ╾ weird|ly adverb ╾ weird|ness noun uncount …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • weird — weird, eerie, uncanny can all mean fearfully and mysteriously strange or fantastic. Weird may be used in the sense of unearthly or preternaturally mysterious {when night makes a weird sound of its own stillness Shelley} {weird whispers, bells… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • weird — [wird] adj. [ME werde, orig. n., fate < OE wyrd, fate < the base of weorthan, to become (basic sense “what is to come”) < IE * wert , to turn: see VERSE] 1. Obs. of fate or destiny 2. of or about ghosts, evil spirits, or other… …   English World dictionary

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