weird

== English == === Alternative forms === weïrd, wierd (obsolete) weyard, weyward (obsolete, Shakespeare) === Etymology === From Middle English werde, wierde, wirde, wyrede, wurde, from Old English wyrd (“fate”), from Proto-West Germanic *wurdi, from Proto-Germanic *wurdiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn, wind”). Cognate with Icelandic urður (“fate”). Related to Old English weorþan (“to become”); more at worth (verb). Doublet of wyrd, a reborrowing of the original sense and spelling. Obsolete by the 16th century in English, it was reintroduced by Shakespeare, who borrowed Middle Scots weird as weyward in the name of the Weyward Sisters (later respelt as Weird Sisters), meaning “Sisters of Fate”. The senses “abnormal”, “strange” etc., arising from a reinterpretatation of the Sisters' naming, are posterior to his borrowing. === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈwɪə(ɹ)d/, /ˈwiːə(ɹ)d/ (US) IPA(key): /ˈwiɚd/, /ˈwɪɚd/ Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)d === Adjective === weird (comparative weirder, superlative weirdest) Having an unusually strange character or behaviour. Synonyms: odd, oddball, peculiar, strange, wacko, Thesaurus:insane Deviating from the normal; bizarre. Synonyms: bizarre, odd, out of the ordinary, strange, (dialectal or archaic) fremd, Thesaurus:strange Relating to weird fiction ("a macabre subgenre of speculative fiction"). (archaic senses) Belonging, pertaining, or related to fate, destiny, or to the Fates; able to influence fate. Synonyms: fateful, foreordained, predestined; see also Thesaurus:fated Related to witches or witchcraft; supernatural; unearthly; suggestive of witches, witchcraft or unearthliness; uncanny; unearthly. Synonyms: witchish, witchlike, witchly, witchy; see also Thesaurus:magicianlike (by extension) Having super- or preternatural power. Synonyms: eerie, spooky, uncanny ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === weird (countable and uncountable, plural weirds) (archaic) Fate; destiny; luck. Synonyms: kismet, lot, orlay, wyrd; see also Thesaurus:fate A prediction. Synonyms: foretale, foretelling; see also Thesaurus:prediction (obsolete, Scotland) A spell or charm. Synonym: enchantment That which comes to pass; a fact. (archaic, in the plural, personification) The Fates. Synonym: Norns (uncountable, colloquial) Weirdness. ==== Derived terms ==== dree one’s weird weirdless === Verb === weird (third-person singular simple present weirds, present participle weirding, simple past and past participle weirded)(transitive) To destine; doom; change by witchcraft or sorcery. To warn solemnly; adjure. === Adverb === weird (not comparable) (nonstandard) In a strange manner. [from 1970s] Synonyms: funny, strangely, weirdly ==== Usage notes ==== As an adverb, weird is only used to modify verbs, and is always positioned after the verb it modifies. Unlike weirdly, it cannot modify an adjective (as in "She was weirdly generous.") or an entire sentence (as in "Weirdly, no-one spoke up."). === References === “weird”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. “weird”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present. “weird, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000. “weird, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000. “weird, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000. “weird adj.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present. Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2026), “weird, adj.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction. Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2026), “weird, n.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction. === Anagrams === Dwire, wider, wierd, wired, wride, wried == French == === Etymology === Borrowed from English weird. === Pronunciation === (Quebec, Louisiana) IPA(key): /wiɚd/, /wiʁd/ === Adjective === weird (plural weirds) (North America, informal) weird, bizarre == Middle English == === Noun === weird alternative form of werde == Scots == === Alternative forms === wierd === Etymology === Inherited from Middle English werde, wirde, wyrde, from Old English wyrd (“fate, destiny”), from Proto-Germanic *wurdiz. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /wird/, [wiːrd] === Noun === weird (plural weirds) fate, fortune, destiny, one's own particular fate or appointed lot event destined to happen, a god's decree, omen, prophecy, prediction. Old Scots Proverb: "Before wierd, there's word" i.e., before a divine event there's a warning. wizard, warlock, one having deep or supernatural skill or knowledge ==== Derived terms ==== === Adjective === weird (comparative mair weird, superlative maist weird) troublesome, mischievous, harmful === Verb === weird (third-person singular simple present weirds, present participle weirdin, simple past and past participle weirdit) to ordain by fate, destine, assign a specific fate or fortune to, allot to imprecate, invoke to prophesy, prognosticate the fate of, warn ominously