eccentric
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ɪkˈsɛntɹɪk/
ipa: /ɛkˈsɛntɹɪk/
homophone: excentric
rhymes: -ɛntɹɪk
Forms: form: eccentrics
form: eccentrick
form: excentric
form: excentrick
Etymology: From Middle French excentrique, from Medieval Latin eccentricus, from Ancient Greek ἔκκεντρος (ékkentros, “not having the earth as the center of an orbit”), from ἐκ (ek, “out”) + κέντρον (kéntron, “point”). Equivalent to ex- + -centric.
Senses: examples: text: A tiny, feisty woman who always spoke her mind, Charlotte was an eccentric in the wonderful way that some women from the last century were natural eccentrics.
ref: 1989, Jeffrey Robinson, Rainier and Grace, page 26:
text: Eccentrics live longer, happier, and healthier lives than conformist normal citizens, according to the neuropsychologist David Weeks.
ref: 1998, Michael Gross, Life On The Edge, published 2001, page ix:
synonyms: character
glosses: One who does not behave like others.
glosses: A kook; a person of bizarre habits or beliefs.
topics: astronomy
geometry
mathematics
natural-sciences
sciences
glosses: A circle not having the same centre as another.
examples: text: The position of the eccentrics which is necessary to make the pistons drive the engine forward must be directly the reverse of that which would cause them to drive the engine backwards. To be able, therefore, to reverse the motion of the engine, it would only be necessary to be able to reverse the position of the eccentrics, which may be accomplished by either of two expedients.
ref: 1840, Dionysius Lardner, The Steam Engine Explained and Illustrated, page 379:
text: Clavius goes on to use the large number of orbs in Fracostoro's theory as another reason to prefer the Ptolemaic system, then couples this issue with that of the relative capacity of the theories to save the phenomena, then finally reiterates the lack (as he sees it) of conflict between the Aristotelian natural philosophy and the eccentrics and epicycles of mathematical astronomy.
ref: 1994, James M. Lattis, Between Copernicus and Galileo: Christoph Clavius and the Collapse of Ptolemaic Cosmology, page 116:
text: The discussion that revolved around the admissibility of eccentrics and epicycles lied^([sic]) at the core of this theoretical discussion, and those who would not allow such concepts took the position that such eccentrics and epicycles would then introduce a center of heaviness, other than the Earth, around which celestial simple objects would then move.
ref: 2007, George Saliba, Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance, page 120:
topics: engineering
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
glosses: A disk or wheel with its axis off centre, giving a reciprocating motion.
examples: text: Research tells us that eccentrics, heavy partials, and static exercise may require several days or weeks of recovery time.
ref: 2021, Edward L. Wallace, Omniflex: A Unified System of Strength Training:
topics: medicine
physiology
sciences
glosses: An exercise that goes against or in the opposite direction of contraction of a muscle.
Synonyms: sense: person who does not behave like others
word: misfit
word: nonconformist
word: maverick
word: crank
raw_tags: of bizarre habits or beliefs
word: odd duck
word: weirdo
word: strange person
Related terms: acentric