strange means not normal; odd, unusual, surprising, out of the ordinary, often with a negative connotation.
strange is pronounced /stɹeɪnd͡ʒ/.
Why “strange” is a great word
Unusual or unfamiliar in a way that is surprising or unsettling, often carrying a negative connotation. From Middle English straunge, from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus ("external, foreign, from outside"), from extra ("outside of"). Unlike "unique," which celebrates singularity without unease, or "familiar," which denotes the comfort of the known, strange is the particular chill of a handshake from someone whose smile does not reach their eyes, the scent of damp earth in a sealed room, or the way a familiar word repeated becomes alien, a hollow sound devoid of meaning—the persistent whisper that something belongs elsewhere, and has no rightful place here.
Etymology
From Middle English straunge, strange, stronge, from Old French estrange, from Latin extrāneus (“that which is on the outside”). Doublet of extraneous and estrange. Cognate with French étrange (“strange, foreign”) and Spanish extraño (“strange, foreign”). Largely displaced native fremd, selcouth, and uncouth, from Old English fremede, seldcūþ, and uncūþ.
adj
- Not normal; odd, unusual, surprising, out of the ordinary, often with a negative connotation.e.g.“He thought it strange that his girlfriend wore shorts in the winter.”
- Unfamiliar, not yet part of one's experience.e.g.“I moved to a strange town when I was ten.”
- Outside of one's current relationship; unfamiliar.
- Having the quantum mechanical property of strangeness.e.g.“A strange quark is electrically charged, carrying an amount -1/3, as does the down quark.” — 2004, Frank Close, Particle Physics: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, page 93:
- Of an attractor: having a fractal structure.
- Belonging to another country; foreign.
- Reserved; distant in deportment.e.g.“Good signiors both, when shall we laugh? say, when? / You grow exceeding strange: must it be so?” — c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blou
- Backward; slow.
- Not familiar; unaccustomed; inexperienced.e.g.“I know thee well; / But in thy fortunes am unlearn’d and strange.” — c. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]
- Not belonging to one.
name
- A surname.
- A community in King township, Ontario, Canada, named after Frederick William Strange.
noun
- Sex outside of one's current relationship.
- A strange quark.
verb
- To alienate; to estrange.
- To be estranged or alienated.
- To wonder; to be astonished at (something).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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