aberrant
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Etymology
From Latin aberrāns, present active participle of aberrō (“go astray; err”), from ab (“from”) + errō (“to wander”).[1] See aberr.[2]
Pronunciation
Adjective
aberrant (comparative more aberrant, superlative most aberrant)
- Differing from the norm. [First attested sometime between the mid 16th century and the early 17th century.][3]
- Synonyms: abnormal, exceptional, unusual; see also Thesaurus:strange
- Antonyms: normal, regular, true; see also Thesaurus:normal
- (sometimes figuratively) Straying from the right way; deviating from morality or truth. [First attested in the mid 18th century.][3]
- Synonyms: devious, errant, immoral; see also Thesaurus:immoral
- Antonyms: correct, right, straight; see also Thesaurus:virtuous
- (botany, zoology) Deviating from the ordinary or natural type; exceptional; abnormal. [First attested in the mid 19th century.][3]
- Antonym: continuous
- 1859, Charles Darwin, On the Origin of the Species:
- The more aberrant any form is, the greater must have been the number of connecting forms which, on my theory, have been exterminated.
Derived terms
Translations
deviating from the norm
straying from the right way
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deviating from the ordinary or natural type; exceptional; abnormal
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Noun
aberrant (plural aberrants)
- A person or object that deviates from the rest of a group.
- (biology) A group, individual, or structure that deviates from the usual or natural type, especially with an atypical chromosome number.
- 1980, Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book, page 87:
- Also I think other birders realise you are struggling a bit when you start talking about aberrants[.]
Synonyms
- (thing deviating from the group): deviant, freak; see also Thesaurus:anomaly
- (thing deviating from the natural type):
Translations
person wandering from the rest of the group
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Something that deviates from the usual or natural type
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References
- “aberrant” in the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 1974 edition.
- Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “aberrant”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 4.
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