Idiosyncrasy: A new meaning
I looked up “idiosyncratic” in The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000 and received the following definition:
idiosyncrasy
SYLLABICATION: idˇiˇoˇsynˇcraˇsy
1. A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.
2. A physiological or temperamental peculiarity.
3. An unusual individual reaction to food or a drug.ETYMOLOGY: Greek idiosunkrsi : idio-, idio- + sunkrsis, mixture, temperament
I never knew that an idiosyncrasy was also a type of allergy. Looking up “idiosyncrasy” in the OED, it appears that the word originally referred to physical temperment, and not mental peculiarity.
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