Exotic

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ɪɡˈzÉ’tɪk/
• US IPA: /ɪɡˈzÉ‘tɪk/
• Rhymes: -É’tɪk

Origin

From Middle French exotique, from Latin exoticus, from Ancient Greek ἐξωτικός (eksotikos, "foreign"), literally "from the outside", from ἐξω- (ekso, "outside"), from ἐξ (eks, "out of").

Full definition of exotic

Adjective

1. Foreign, especially in an exciting way.
   an exotic appearance
• John Evelyn (1620-1706)Nothing was so splendid and exotic as the ambassador.
• 1905, w, w:The Case of Miss Elliott Chapter 2, “Two or three months more went by ; the public were eagerly awaiting the arrival of this semi-exotic claimant to an English peerage, and sensations, surpassing those of the Tichbourne case, were looked forward to with palpitating interest. â€¦â€
• 2013-06-29, Travels and travails, Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.
2. Non-native to the ecosystem.

Related terms

• exotica

Derived terms

• exotically
• exoticness
• exotic atom
• exotic baryon
• exotic cheroot
• exotic sphere

Noun

1. (biology) An organism that is exotic to an environment.
2. An exotic dancer; a stripteaser.
3. (physics) Any exotic particle.Glueballs, theoretical particles composed only of gluons, are exotics.

Derived terms

• invasive exotic