Eccentric

 WORD OF THE DAY

eccentric / adjective / ik-SEN-trik

Definition
1a: deviating from conventional or accepted usage or conduct especially in odd or whimsical ways
1b: deviating from an established or usual pattern or style
2a: deviating from a circular path
2b: elliptical
2c: located elsewhere than at the geometric center
2d: having the axis or support so located
3a: a person who behaves in odd or unusual ways
3b: an eccentric person
4a: a mechanical device consisting of an eccentric disk communicating its motion to a rod so as to produce reciprocating motion

Examples
"This children’s adventure movie from Vietnam is like 'E.T.'—but sloppier and more eccentric."
— Beatrice Loayza, The New York Times, 2 June 2022

It was Charles Darwin's eccentric mathematician cousin Francis Galton who in 1874 ignited the nature-nurture controversy.  …
— Matt Ridley, Time, 2 June 2003

Did You Know?
Eccentric comes to us through Middle English from the Medieval Latin word eccentricus, but it is ultimately derived from a combination of the Greek words ex, meaning "out of," and kentron, meaning "center."
The original meaning of eccentric in English was "not having the same center" (as in "eccentric spheres"). In this sense, it contrasts with concentric, meaning "having a common center" (as in "concentric circles," one within another).
But since the 17th century, English speakers have also used eccentric to describe those who are figuratively off-center.
It can also be used to describe something that doesn't follow a truly circular path, as in "an eccentric orbit."