• adj. 特殊的；獨特的；奇怪的；罕見的
• n. 特權；特有財產

來自拉丁語peculium,私人財產，私人錢財，私人牛羊等，來自pecus,家畜，牛，羊，詞源同fee,pecuniary.其原義為私人所有的，個人的，后引申詞義與他人不同的，怪異的，奇怪的。詞義演變比較idiom,idiot,idiosyncrasy.

peculiar

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.

1. Flying at 1,000 ft. he heard a peculiar noise from the rotors.

在1,000英尺的高度飛行時，他聽到旋翼發出一種奇怪的噪音。

來自柯林斯例句

2. The problem is by no means peculiar to America.

這個問題絕對不只限于美國。

來自柯林斯例句

3. She was a very peculiar-looking woman.

她是個樣貌怪異的女人。

來自柯林斯例句

4. All this has made me feel quite peculiar.

這一切令我覺得有點兒不舒服。

來自柯林斯例句

5. Rachel thought it tasted peculiar.

雷切爾覺得它味道古怪。

來自柯林斯例句