Eccentricity (noun)

  1. The state or quality of being eccentric, especially in behavior.
  2. The condition of being different from the norm or the average, especially in behavior or appearance.
  3. The degree of departure of a planet, asteroid, or comet from a circular orbit, measured as the ratio of the distance between the foci of an elliptical orbit to the major axis.
  4. A deviation from the norm or the average.

Origin:

Late 16th century: from medieval latin eccentricus (translating greek ekkentros "out of the center"), on the pattern of words such as concentric.

Examples:

  1. The old man's eccentricity was notorious, he would wear a different outfit every day.
  2. The artist's eccentricity was reflected in the way he dressed and in the way he lived.
  3. The eccentricity of the orbit of a comet is a measure of how much its orbit deviates from a perfect circle.
  4. He was known for his eccentricity, always doing things differently.
  5. The eccentricity of the planet's orbit causes its distance from the sun to vary.
Some random words: corridor, histrionic, feeling