Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
A monstrosity; a malformation; an abnormal organism.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: aberration, abnormality, anomaly, deformity, freak, monster, mutant, mutation, oddity, rarity, lusus naturae
Antonyms: none provided
noun
In the variety-show business, a person or an animal on exhibition as showing some strange deviation from nature, such as a bearded woman or an albino.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
From lusus naturae, from Latin lūsus nātūrae (literally “sport of nature”), originally used to explain fossils or abnormalities such as two-headed snakes.
Across languages
6 source translations are retained for this English entry.
