• adj. 特殊的；独特的；奇怪的；罕见的
• n. 特权；特有财产

来自拉丁语peculium,私人财产，私人钱财，私人牛羊等，来自pecus,家畜，牛，羊，词源同fee,pecuniary.其原义为私人所有的，个人的，后引申词义与他人不同的，怪异的，奇怪的。词义演变比较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英尺的高度飞行时，他听到旋翼发出一种奇怪的噪音。

来自柯林斯例句

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

这个问题绝对不只限于美国。

来自柯林斯例句

3. She was a very peculiar-looking woman.

她是个样貌怪异的女人。

来自柯林斯例句

4. All this has made me feel quite peculiar.

这一切令我觉得有点儿不舒服。

来自柯林斯例句

5. Rachel thought it tasted peculiar.

雷切尔觉得它味道古怪。

来自柯林斯例句