topic investigation for Thurs. Oct. 15th

weird

  [weerd] Show IPA adjective, -er, -est, noun

–adjective

1.	involving or suggesting the supernatural; unearthly or uncanny: a weird sound; weird lights.

2.	fantastic; bizarre: a weird getup.

3.	Archaic. concerned with or controlling fate or destiny.

–noun Chiefly Scot.

4.	fate; destiny.

5.	fate (def. 6).

Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME (northern form of wird), OE wyrd; akin to worth ²; (adj.) ME, orig. attributive n. in phrase werde sisters the Fates (popularized as appellation of the witches in Macbeth)

Related forms:

weirdly, adverb

weirdness, noun

Synonyms:
1. unnatural, preternatural. weird, eerie, unearthly, uncanny refer to that which is mysterious and apparently outside natural law. Weirdrefers to that which is suggestive of the fateful intervention of supernatural influences in human affairs: the weird adventures of a group lost in the jungle. Eerie refers to that which, by suggesting the ghostly, makes one's flesh creep: an eerie moaning from a deserted house. Unearthly refers to that which seems by its nature to belong to another world: an unearthly light that preceded the storm. Uncanny refers to that which is mysterious because of its apparent defiance of the laws established by experience: an uncanny ability to recall numbers.

Antonyms:
1. natural.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

weird (wîrd) adj. weird·er, weird·est Of, relating to, or suggestive of the preternatural or supernatural. Of a strikingly odd or unusual character; strange. Archaic Of or relating to fate or the Fates. n. Fate; destiny. One's assigned lot or fortune, especially when evil. often Weird Greek & Roman Mythology One of the Fates. tr. & intr.v. weird·ed, weird·ing, weirds Slang To experience or cause to experience an odd, unusual, and sometimes uneasy sensation. Often used with out. [Middle English werde, fate, having power to control fate, from Old English wyrd, fate; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.] weird'ly adv., weird'ness n. Synonyms: These adjectives refer to what is of a mysteriously strange, usually frightening nature. Weird may suggest the operation of supernatural influences, or merely the odd or unusual: "The person of the house gave a weird little laugh" (Charles Dickens). "There is a weird power in a spoken word" (Joseph Conrad). Something eerie inspires fear or uneasiness and implies a sinister influence: "At nightfall on the marshes, the thing was eerie and fantastic to behold" (Robert Louis Stevenson). Uncanny refers to what is unnatural and peculiarly unsettling:"The queer stumps ... had uncanny shapes, as of monstrous creatures" (John Galsworthy). Something unearthly seems so strange and unnatural as to come from or belong to another world: "He could hear the unearthly scream of some curlew piercing the din" (Henry Kingsley).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.