peculiar: [15] The etymological notion underlying peculiar is of ‘not being shared with others’, of being ‘one’s own alone’. It was borrowed from Latin pecūliāris ‘of private property’, a derivative of pecūlium ‘private property’, which in turn was based on pecus ‘cattle’, hence ‘wealth’ (source also of English pecuniary [16]). (A parallel semantic progression from ‘cattle’ to ‘property’ is shown in English fee.) The development of the adjective’s meaning from ‘belonging to oneself alone’ through ‘individual’ to ‘extraordinary, strange’ took place in Latin. Peculate ‘pilfer, embezzle’ [18] also comes ultimately from Latin pecūlium. => pecuniary
peculiar (adj.)
mid-15c., "belonging exclusively to one person," from Latin peculiaris "of one's own (property)," from peculium "private property," literally "property in cattle" (in ancient times the most important form of property), from pecu "cattle, flock," related to pecus "cattle" (see pecuniary). Meaning "unusual" is first attested c. 1600 (earlier "distinguished, special," 1580s; for sense development, compare idiom). Related: Peculiarly.
实用例句
1. Flying at 1,000 ft. he heard a peculiar noise from the rotors.
在1,000英尺的高度飞行时，他听到旋翼发出一种奇怪的噪音。
来自柯林斯例句
2. The problem is by no means peculiar to America.
