Heteroclite

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈhÉ›tÉ™rəʊklaɪt/

Origin

From late Latin heteroclitus, from Ancient Greek ἑτερόκλιτος (heteróklitos, ""), from ἕτερος (héteros, "other, another, different") + κλίνω (klínō, "lean, incline"), the latter from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-.

Full definition of heteroclite

Adjective

1. Deviating from the ordinary rule; eccentric, abnormal.
• 1759, Laurence Sterne, The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, he was, on the contrary, as mercurial and sublimated a composition,----as heteroclite a creature in all his declensions; -----with as much life and whim, and gaité de cÅ“ur about him, as the kindliest climate could have engendered and put together.
• 1997, Gene Wolfe, The Urth of the New Sun, Nor could I have dreamed the heteroclite crew-men I had met aboard Tzadkiel's ship ...
2. (grammar) Being irregularly declined or inflected.

Related terms

• heteroclitic

Noun

1. A person who is unconventional; a maverick
2. (grammar) An irregularly declined or inflected word
3. (linguistics) A word whose etymological roots come from distinct, different languages or language groups.

Related terms

• heteroclitic