weirdn.
/wɪəd/, U.S. /wɪ(ə)rd/ 1.
a. The principle, power, or agency by which events are predetermined; fate, destiny.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun]
weirdc888
whatec1200
fortunea1300
cuta1340
destinyc1374
fatec1374
destin1590
jade1594
fatalitya1631
ananke1860
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxix. §5 Ac þæt þæt we wyrd hatað, þæt bið Godes weorc þæt he ælce dæg wyrcð.
OE Seafarer 115 Wyrd biþ swiþre, meotud meahtigra þonne ænges monnes gehygd.
OE Beowulf 455 Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel!
OE Beowulf 477 Hie wyrd forsweop on Grendles gryre.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 443 Þat sygnyfys þe same man þat sett is, be wird, So many prouynce to pas.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2134 Worþe hit wele oþer wo, as þe wyrde lykeȝ hit hafe.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 249 What wyrde has hyder my iuel vayned.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 372 As werd will wyrk thi fortoun mon thou tak.
c1585 A. Montgomerie Sonn. xxxiii. 1 Vhom suld I warie bot my wicked weard, Vha span my thriftles thrauard fatall threed?
1603 Philotus c. sig. D3v Quhat wickit weird hes wrocht our wo?
1895 W. Morris & A. J. Wyatt tr. Tale of Beowulf 16 Weird wends as she willeth.
1895 W. Morris & A. J. Wyatt tr. Tale of Beowulf 17 Weird swept them away.]
b. Magical power, enchantment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun]
sigaldry?c1225
enchantery1297
enchantment1297
charminga1300
chantmentc1300
chantinga1382
forspeaking1483
fairyc1515
bewitching1535
enchanting1553
fascination1572
eye-biting1584
sparrow-blasting1589
effascination1624
enchant1634
maleficiation1649
spelling1665
glamour1793
weird1813
glamoury1821
ensorcellment1931
1813 J. Hogg Queen's Wake i. viii. 82 He heard the word of awsome weird, And he saw their deedis of synn.
2.
a. plural. The Fates, the three goddesses supposed to determine the course of human life.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > classical deity > [noun] > the Fates
weirdsc725
ParcaeeOE
the three sistersa1400
destiny14..
the Weird Sistersc1400
(the) fatal dames, ladies, sisters1552
the three Fatals1575
fate1600
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > the (three) Fates
weirdsc725
ParcaeeOE
the three sistersa1400
(the) fatal dames, ladies, sisters1552
the three Fatals1575
fate1600
c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) P. 15 Parcae, wyrde.
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Hypermnestra. 19 The werdys that we clepyn destene Hath shapyn hire that she mot nedis be Pyetous sad.
c1450 Crt. of Love 1173 I mene, the three of fatall destinè, That be our werdes.
1483 Cath. Angl. 420/2 Wyrdis, parce.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid i. i. 30 Gif werdis war nocht contrair [L. si qua fata sinant].
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) iv. sig. Fii The werdes withstande [L. fata obstant].
a1585 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart 326 ‘Woe worth’, quoth the Weirds, ‘the wights that thee wroght!’
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. i. 5 And whilst from Phleg'ran fields, the weirds me call, I in Elisean plaines, am forc'd to fall.
1722 A. Ramsay Tale Three Bonnets ii. 13 Ye'r grown sae braw: now Weirds defend me.
1855 R. C. Singleton tr. Virgil Eclogues iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. I. 29 ‘Career ye on,’ Have to their spindles cried, in harmony With the unswerving will of fates, the Weirds [L. Parcae].
b. One pretending or supposed to have the power to foresee and to control future events; a witch or wizard, a soothsayer.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > soothsaying > [noun] > soothsayer
soothsayer1381
Chaldee1382
ariole1398
ariolerc1475
bruterer1530
Chaldean1581
weird1625
ariolater1652
ariolist1652
1625 P. Heylyn Μικρόκοσμος (rev. ed.) 509 These two..were mette by three Fairies, or Witches (Weirds the Scots call them).
1654 R. Vilvain tr. Enchiridium Epigr. ii. lxxx The 2 Scots courtiers who met three Wierds or Witches which foretold their fortune.
1682 C. Irvine Hist. Sc. Nomencl. 12 Arioli. Weards, Sooth-sayers, or Second-sighted-men.
1834 A. Smart Rambling Rhymes 164 Puir auld wives..Were seized in Superstition's clutches, An' brunt to death for wierds an' witches.
1899 J. Spence Shetland Folk-lore 143 With this green nettle And cross of metal I witches and wierds defy.
3.
a. That which is destined or fated to happen to a particular person, etc.; what one will do or suffer; one's appointed lot or fortune, destiny.Often in to dree one's weird: see dree v. Phrases 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [noun] > destiny or fate > a destiny
weirdc725
sorta1325
fatality1589
fate1768
c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) S 433 Sortem, wyrd, condicionem.
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xl. §1 Ic wille secgan þæt ælc wyrd bio good, sam hio monnum good þinc, sam hio him yfel þince.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9968 Had neuer womman sa blisful wird..Als maria maiden.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3453 Strang weird was giuen to þam o were þat þai moght noght þair strif for-bere.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2418 Dalyda dalt hym hys wyrde.
c1400 Ant. Arthur (Taylor) xvi ‘Ways me for thy wirde!’ cothe Waynor.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 4680 Þai grett, þai sorowed þair sary werde.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 765 My waryed werd in warld I mon fullfill.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 109 Euerie ladie passit hame..Weipand full soir and wareand hir werd.
1563 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) lxiii It made myne iyes in very teares consume: When I beheld the wofull werd befall, That by the wrathful wyl of Gods was come.
a1600 A. Montgomerie Misc. Poems xlvi. 31 They haif wroght my weird Vnhappiest on eird.
1718 A. Ramsay Christ's-kirk on Green iii. 26 It's a wise Wife that kens her wierd.
a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1785) 138 Those Whase weird is still to creep, alas! Unnotic'd 'mang the humle grass.
1793 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 768 Let simple maid the lesson read, The wierd may be her ain.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xi, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 306 My weird maun be fulfilled, Mr. Butler.
1892 J. A. Henderson Ann. Lower Deeside 79 The weird of this kirk is that it will fall in time of worship.
1909 H. Belloc Marie Antoinette 255 It was one more of those hammer-blows of Fate exactly coincident with the sequence of the Queen's weird.
b. plural (often in reference to a single person).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > that which is ordained by fate > personal destiny or one's lot
lotOE
chance1297
fallc1300
weirds1320
cuta1340
fatec1374
vie1377
parta1382
foredoom1563
event1577
allotment1586
fatality1589
kincha1600
lines1611
fortunea1616
dispensation1704
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [noun] > destiny or fate > a destiny > destinies
weirds1320
1320–30 Horn Ch. 456 Wiif thai toke, and duelled thare; In Inglond com thai no mare, Her werdes for to bide.
c1340 R. Rolle Psalter lxxiv. 5 Sum says it was my werdis; sum says the sterne of my birth gert me syn.
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1886) i. met. i. 1 The sorful wierdes of me olde man [L. maesti mea fata senis].
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 94 Whan thei at mi nativite My weerdes setten as thei wolde.
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. iv. 241 As hus werdes [v.r. wirdus] were ordeined.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15279 Þe gait it es al graid, He mai sai wirdes warid þat forwit him es laid.
14.. Guy Warw. (Cambr.) 1155 Jesu Cryste, what ys my redde? For my loue þese men be dedde; Sory wordys were me lente, To serue Felyce when y was sente.
14.. Guy Warw. (Cambr.) 7416 Harde wordys ys me beforne.
1423 Kingis Quair ix So vncouthly hir werdes sche deuideth.
c1470 J. Hardyng Chron. lxxxv. iv Fortune, false executryse of weerdes [= Chaucer Troylus iii. 617], That euermore..To all debates thou strongly so enherdes.
1571 J. Maitland in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxvii. 102 Then warreitt war thy weirdis and wanhap.
1579 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) III. 140/1 That they can tell þair weardis deathis & fortunes.
c. spec. An evil fate inflicted by supernatural power, esp. by way of retribution.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > [noun] > misfortune or ill-luck > an evil fate > inflicted by supernatural power
weird1874
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun] > spell > malignant enchantment or curse
curse1382
taking1541
ban1603
malignation1652
bad mouth1832
brujería1838
weird1874
Indian sign1901
hex1909
whammy1940
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8981 Bot hard it es, þe wird o sin þat yarked was til adam kin!]
1874 ‘Ouida’ Two Wooden Shoes 132 Swallows do not tell their secrets. They have the weird of Procne on them all.
1877 R. C. Trench Lect. Med. Ch. Hist. 178 But a weird was upon him and upon his race.
1885 J. Ingelow Sleep of Sigismund 7 The weird is on him to grope in the dark with endless Weariful feet for a goal that shifteth still.
4.
a. A happening, event, occurrence.Prov. after word comes weird, the mention of a thing is followed by its occurrence or appearance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > occurrence or event
weird971
redeOE
thingOE
limpc1200
casea1250
tidingc1275
timinga1325
being?c1400
incident?1462
advenement1490
occurrent1523
accidenta1525
occurrence1539
affair1550
event1554
happening1561
événement1567
success1588
betide1590
circumstance1592
arrivage1603
eveniency1660
occurrency1671
betider1674
befalling1839
whet1849
intermezzo1851
transpiration1908
971 Blickl. Hom. 221 Þa gelamp wundorlic wyrd þæt se leg ongan slean & brecan ongean þone wind.
OE Crist I 81 Ne we soðlice swylc ne gefrugnan in ærdagum æfre gelimpan, þæt ðu in sundurgiefe swylce befenge, ne we þære wyrde wenan þurfon toweard in tide.
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 340 It were a wonder wierde To sen a king become an hierde.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 5459 It befell' þis wondir werde.
1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 2 After Word comes Weird; fair fall them that call me Madam.
1883 H. Caine Shadow of Crime xxxvi Weel, weel; after word comes weird. That's why the constables are gone, and that's why Robbie's come.
b. That which is destined or fated to happen; predetermined events collectively.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [noun] > destiny or fate
whatec1200
gracec1325
destiny1340
portionc1350
sortc1405
weird1508
dolec1520
foredoom1563
fate1667
destinate1675
fatality1699
kismet1849
ultimatum1861
foredestiny1872
ming1937
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. cviv Thair wil nane wyis that ar wis wary the werd.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. vii. 48 Bot we from werd to werd and chance mon wend.
1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd i. 3 A tale that the elders have told, A story of weird and of woe.
5. † a. A decree (of a god). Obsolete.† b. An omen or token significant of the nature of a future event; a prognostic. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [noun] > a decree of fate
ordinance1340
weirda1400
pre-ordinance1486
foreordinance1530
fore-purpose1551
ordainment1605
foreordination1620
fatality1763
society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > Testament > Old Testament > [noun] > Mosaic dispensation > decalogue > one of
commandmentc1325
weirda1400
statutec1430
law-word1645
command1667
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 270 Þe werdes Of my gracious goddis, þe grettest on erde.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xii. 202 And thou, Tellus, mast nobill God of erd, Hald fast the speris hed by ȝour werd.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > an omen, sign, portent > [noun]
foretokenc888
tokeningc888
beaconc950
token971
handsela1200
boding1297
wonder1297
bodec1374
signa1387
foreboding1387
prenostica1393
prognosticc1425
prophetc1430
prognostication?a1439
ostentationa1450
prenostication?a1450
prodigy?a1450
augurationc1450
preparative1460
prenosticate?a1475
prenosticative?a1475
prodige1482
prenosticature1490
tokener1513
weird1513
show token1535
luck1538
prognosticate1541
preamble1548
proffer1548
presagition?c1550
foreshower1555
presage1560
portent1562
ostent1570
presagie1581
omen1582
presagement1586
luck sign1587
augury1588
prognosticon1588
forerunner1589
presager1591
halfner1594
spae1596
abode1598
oss1600
assign1601
augur1603
bodement1613
predictiona1616
prognosticala1618
bespeaker1624
portender1635
pre-indicant1659
foreshadow1834
boder1846
prognosticant1880
sky sign1880
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xiii. 150 Jove..bad hir hald doun baldly to the erd, For to resist Juturnais ire and werd [L. omen].
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1903) II. 233 Þe senat..said þai acceppit þe weird þat followit one þir wourdis.
c. A prediction of the fate which is to happen to a person; etc.; a prophecy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > [noun] > an inspired prophecy
visionc1290
prophecyc1330
vaticiny1587
destiny1602
vaticination1603
prevision1635
weird1785
1785 Select Coll. Poems Buchan Dial. 18 Altho' his mither, in her weirds, Foretald his death at Troy.
1802 C. Gray Poems (1811) 73 Then, as to his fortin tellin',..he ne'er liket to be sellin' His weird for wind.
d. A supernatural or marvellous occurrence or tale.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [noun] > event
wonderc950
miraclec1390
marl1604
phenomenon1741
weird1814
sensation1860
masterpiece1933
wipeout1968
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > telling strange stories > [noun] > wonderful or strange story
unco1786
weird1814
1814 W. Nicholson Tales in Verse 2 [She] Could tell her tale or lilt her sang,..Wi' weirds an' witch'ries aft atween, An' unco sights that some had seen.
a1859 A. Tait in Jas. Watson Living Bards of Border 151 What legends and weirds these fair scenes still awaken.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
weird-fixed adj.
ΚΠ
1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 181 Now was come the weird-fix't hour Ordain'd to break the Papish power.
weird-set adj.
ΚΠ
1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 46 The weird-set day begins to daw.
C2. † weird-man n. Obsolete a seer.
weird-licht n. Scottish the light of destiny.
ΚΠ
1844 W. Thom Rhymes & Recoll. 54 There's a bricht e'e looks love to me, Like the weird licht o'er me shining.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > [noun] > a prophet or seer
witiec897
seera1382
before-speakerc1400
prophesier1477
spaeman?a1505
vaticinarc1550
destinator1579
mantist1588
vident1588
vates1625
fatary1652
faticane1652
vaticinator1652
visionist1665
visionary1706
visioner1716
weird-man1806
spaer1820
spae-wright1876
percipient1883
1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 238 ‘Dire is the doom’, the wierd-man said; ‘Nae mair, O lady, speir!’
weird-woman n. a witch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > sorcerer or magician > witch > [noun]
walkyrieOE
witchOE
hagc1230
strya1300
wise woman1382
sorceressc1384
luller14..
tylyester14..
chantressc1425
magicienne1490
gyre-carline1535
witch-womana1538
eye-biter1584
beldama1586
witch-wife1591
cunning woman1594
saga?a1600
magha1609
magicianess1651
hag-witcha1658
haggard1658
besom-rider1664
wizardess1789
fly-by-night1796
lucky1827
bruja1829
weird-woman1845
hex1856
Baba Yaga1857
pishogue1906
witcher1928
1845 J. E. Carpenter Poems & Lyrics 34 The weird-woman had stol'n away.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
weirdadj.
/wɪəd/, U.S. /wɪ(ə)rd/ 1. Having the power to control the fate or destiny of human beings, etc.; later, claiming the supernatural power of dealing with fate or destiny.Originally in the Weird Sisters = †(a) the Fates; (b) the witches in Macbeth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > classical deity > [noun] > the Fates
weirdsc725
ParcaeeOE
the three sistersa1400
destiny14..
the Weird Sistersc1400
(the) fatal dames, ladies, sisters1552
the three Fatals1575
fate1600
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [adjective] > having the power to control fate
weirdc1400
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > inspired prophecy > [adjective]
witiec897
weirdc1400
propheticalc1450
propheticc1484
vaticinant1490
fatal?1504
spaeing?a1505
vaticinal1587
mantical1588
vatical1594
vatic1603
fatidical1608
vaticinating1634
fatiloquent1656
vaticinian1656
fatidic1671
fateful1720
vaticinatric1729
seer-like1816
mantic1839
fatidicating1867
vaticinatory1883
c1400 Sc. Trojan War ii. 2818 Vþeris said sche was, I trow, A werde-sister, I wait neuir how.
c1420 Wyntoun Cron. vi. xviii. 1862 Þa women þan thoucht he Thre werd systeris mast lyk to be.
c1475 Cath. Angl. (Add. MS.) 420/2 Wyrde systres, parce.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid v. xiii. 74 Admit myne asking, gif so the fatis gidis,..Or ȝit werd sisteris list gif thaim that cuntre.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 50 The tail of the thre veird systirs.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Scotl. 243/2 (margin) in Chron. I The prophesie of three women supposing to be the weird sisters or feiries.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. iii. 30 The weyward Sisters, hand in hand,..Thus doe goe, about, about. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. i. 2 Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, As the weyard Women promis'd. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. iv. 132 I will to morrow..to the weyard Sisters. View more context for this quotation
1693 T. Urquhart & P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 3rd Bk. Wks. xxviii. 237 The weer'd Sister Parques.
1733 L. Theobald Wks. Shakespeare V. 393 (note) In every passage..my Emendation must be embraced and we must read weïrd [1740 Wierd, or Weïrd].
1755 J. G. Cooper Tomb Shakspeare 99 Where three swart sisters of the weïrd band Were mutt'ring curses to the troublous wind.
1765 Birth of St. George 47 in Percy Reliq. III. 218 To the weïrd lady of the woods He purpos'd to repaire.
1807 Salmagundi 18 Apr. 151 He had rather see one of the weird sisters flourish through his key-hole on a broom-stick.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Let. to — in Posthumous Poems (1824) 62 And here, like some weïrd Archimage sit I, Plotting dark spells.
a1854 H. Reed Lect. Brit. Poets (1857) v. 189 The weird woman with beards meet to seal the deep damnation of their victim.
2. absolute.1888 Daily News 30 Aug. 4/7 Miss Seward, according to Sir Walter Scott, was a mistress of the weird in oral narrative.1899 G. Douglas James Hogg v. 101 Unlike the German's, Hogg's ‘weird’ is seldom or never morbid, fevered, hectic.
a. Partaking of or suggestive of the supernatural; of a mysterious or unearthly character; unaccountably or uncomfortably strange; uncanny.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > [adjective] > uncanny
eldritch1508
eerie1792
erlisha1802
unearthly1802
weird1817
pokerish1825
weirdly1831
uncanny1843
spooky1854
weird-like1854
wisht1872
unheimlichc1877
weirdsome1885
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna ix. viii. 197 Some said, I was a fiend from my weird cave, Who had stolen human shape.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Witch of Atlas lxxviii, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 55 It is A tale more fit for the weïrd winter nights—Than for these garish summer days.
1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. xiii. 168 This solitude has something in it weird and awful.
1851 Ld. Tennyson Princess (ed. 4) i. 14 Myself too had weird seizures, Heaven knows what.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. i. 3 Both men then looked with a weird unholy interest at the wake of Gaffer's boat.
1878 H. W. Lucy Diary Two Parl.: Disraeli (1885) 393 I hear a weird story in connection with the private history of the family.
b. of sounds or voices.
ΚΠ
1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 3 In lone and silent hours, When night makes a weird sound of its own stillness.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. ii. 11 The weird rattle of the débris which fell at intervals.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. ii. i. 168 The person of the house gave a weird little laugh here.
1876 S. Smiles Life Sc. Naturalist vi. 100 He was awakened by a weird and unearthly moaning.
3. Of strange or unusual appearance, odd-looking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective] > strange > specifically in appearance
uncouth1513
odd1596
wilda1616
weird1816
1816 P. B. Shelley Alastor 31 Mutable As shapes in the weird clouds.
1861 H. Macmillan Footnotes from Nature 23 The soft yielding carpets of greenest verdure and weirdest patterns, woven by these tiny plants on the floor of shadowy old forests.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. Prel. 3 He begins to people the weird places of the earth with weird beings.
1907 A. Robertson in Trans. Devon Assoc. 53 Bampfylde Moore Carew, King of the Gipsies, [not] the only weird, extravagant figure that has moved across Devon's stage.
4.
a. Out of the ordinary course, strange, unusual; hence, odd, fantastic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective] > bizarre
remote1533
antic1579
outlandish1588
bizarrea1648
outré1722
freakish1805
weird1820
freaky1824
weirdish1863
ostrobogulous1951
ostrobogulatory1952
far-out1954
weirdo1962
flaky1972
zonky1972
gonzo1974
mondo bizarro1976
mondo1979
woo-woo1986
freakazoid1990
1820 J. Keats Lamia i, in Lamia & Other Poems 9 I..bade her steep Her hair in weïrd syrops, that would keep Her loveliness invisible.
1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton King Arthur ii. xxxvi The prophet up the plain, Gathering weird simples, pass'd.
1855 C. Dickens Holly-tree Inn: Guest in Househ. Words Extra Christmas No. 5/2 He was a man with a weird belief in him that no one could count the stones of Stonehenge twice, and make the same number of them.
1912 Eng. Hist. Rev. Oct. 833 The ‘Guacciadim’ of p. 140 is a weird misprint for Guicciardini.
b. Colloquial phrase weird and wonderful, marvellous in a strange or eccentric way; both remarkable and peculiar or unfathomable; exotic, outlandish. Frequently ironical or derogatory.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [adjective] > with quality of strangeness
selcouthc888
uncouthc900
sellya1000
ferly?c1225
strangec1374
nicec1395
ferlifula1400
monsterfulc1460
portentous1553
miraculous1569
vengible1594
strangefula1618
phenomenous1743
phenomenala1850
very like a whale1859
weird and wonderful1859
fourth-dimensional1902
out of this world1941
unreal1965
1859 J. H. Stirling in Meliora 1 231 These [poems] are doubtless meant to be very weird and wonderful, but they are mere breath, and..barren as the wind.
1886 O. Wilde in Pall Mall Gaz. 1 Feb. 5/1 There is psychology of a weird and wonderful kind.
1908 T. E. Lawrence Let. 9 Aug. in T. E. Lawrence et al. Home Lett. (1954) 70 Their food is weird and wonderful.
1946 Visct. Knebworth Boxing xiv. 176 The beginner so often gets the idea that he is going to do the most weird and wonderful movements.
1962 Friend 3 Aug. 947/1 Nearly all the weird and wonderful decorations were provided by a decorator member of the club.
1978 S. Naipaul North of South ii. vi. 227 A weird and wonderful place is Jo'burg.
Compounds
weird-looking adj.
ΚΠ
1862 E. Johnston Gifts & Graces xix. 184 All the trees grim and shadowy, every familiar object weird-looking.
1867 Q. Rev. Oct. 437 The Prophet first pointed out a weird-looking creature, a turnkey.
1888 F. Hume Madame Midas i. Prol. 13 A cruel, weird-looking scene, fantastic, unreal, and bizarre as one of Doré's marvellous conceptions.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
weirdv.
/wɪəd/, U.S. /wɪ(ə)rd/, Scottish English /wird/ Scottish and †northern.
1. transitive. To preordain by the decree of fate; esp. in passive to be destined or divinely appointed to, into, or unto (with infinitive or noun).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > predestine or predetermine [verb (transitive)]
shapea1000
dightc1000
besee1297
weirda1300
destinec1300
ordainc1390
ettlea1400
destinyc1400
eure1428
fortunec1430
foreordainc1440
order1532
preordain1533
predefine1542
prefine1545
destinate1548
fore-pointa1557
fore-appoint1561
pre-ordinate1565
foreset1573
forepurpose1581
sort1592
predestinate1593
predetermine1601
pre-appoint1603
forecall1613
fatea1616
predesign1630
predeterminate1637
pre-order1640
predestine1642
ordinate1850
foreordinate1858
preset1926
a1300 Cursor Mundi 23368 Ne hert mai think þaa ioies sere, þat iesus crist has dight til his, þat weirrded er vnto þe bliss.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 25225 All þe men þat werded es for to be broght into þi blis.
1678 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Prov. (ed. 2) 360 (Sc. Prov.) A man may wooe where he will, but he will wed where he is weard [(ed. 1) where his hap is].
1755 R. Forbes tr. Ovid Ajax his Speech (new ed.) 14 These darts that weerded were To tak the town o' Troy.
1885 J. Lumsden Rural Rhymes 236 Gin the gude Mr. Hootsman is weirdit to be married a third time neist week.
2. To assign to (a person) as his fate; to apportion as one's destiny or lot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [verb (transitive)] > decree, appoint, allot, or assign
setc1000
spinc1374
weirdc1550
forlot1566
oss1600
foredoom1608
condemn1653
c1550 Clariodus (1830) i. 1030 The Waird Sisteris..wairdit me, gif ane knave chyld war I, That efter I was sevin ȝeiris old To be transformit in ane lyoun bold.
1802 in W. Scott Minstrelsy Sc. Border II. 93 I weird ye to a fiery beast, And relieved sall ye never be, Till [etc.].
1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 238 Say..what the doom sae dire, that thou Doest wierd to mine or me?
a1869 C. Spence From Braes of Carse (1898) 182 A lesson teaching poor and rich That nane should weird ill to a witch.
3. To warn or advise by the knowledge of coming fate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > warning of imminent danger or evil > warn (a person) of imminent danger or evil [verb (transitive)] > by knowledge of fate
weird1806
1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads I. 237 I wierd ye, gangna there!
1806 R. Jamieson Pop. Ballads II. 174 I weird thee, to lat me be were best.
Derivatives
ˈweirded adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > fate or destiny as determining events > [adjective] > fated or predestined
born1357
destinablec1374
destinalc1374
fatalc1374
predestinatec1384
foreordainedc1420
ordinate?a1425
destiny?1473
preordinatea1475
prefinitec1475
pointed1523
predestined1545
determined1546
ordinated1562
predestinated1571
preordained?1580
fore-appointeda1586
predeterminate1601
predetermined1601
destinated1604
destinate1605
destined1609
predesigned1668
predefinite1678
cut and dry1710
fated1715
weirded1820
laid-down1839
foreordinated1858
predesignated1883
predestinatory1893
preset1926
predefined1929
predestine1962
bashert1963
1820 W. Scott Monastery II. iii*. 140 Say, what hath forged thy wierded [footn. fated] link of destiny with the House of Avenel?
Categories »
ˈweirding n.
weirding peas n. peas employed in divination.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by natural phenomena > divination by food and drink > [noun] > peas used in divination
weirding peas1804
1804 W. Tarras Poems 68 Jock Din is to the yard right sly, To saw his wierdin piz.
Draft additions December 2003
transitive. slang (chiefly U.S.). to weird out: to induce a sense of discomfort, alienation, strangeness, etc., in; to make anxiously uncomfortable. Frequently in past participle. Cf. weirded out adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > upset or perturb [verb (transitive)]
to-wendc893
mingeOE
dreveOE
angerc1175
sturb?c1225
worec1225
troublec1230
sturble1303
disturbc1305
movea1325
disturblec1330
drubblea1340
drovec1350
distroublec1369
tempestc1374
outsturba1382
unresta1382
stroublec1384
unquietc1384
conturb1393
mismaya1400
unquemea1400
uneasec1400
discomfita1425
smite?a1425
perturbc1425
pertrouble?1435
inquiet1486
toss1526
alter1529
disquiet1530
turmoil1530
perturbate1533
broil1548
mis-set?1553
shake1567
parbruilyiec1586
agitate1587
roil1590
transpose1594
discompose1603
harrow1609
hurry1611
obturb1623
shog1636
untune1638
alarm1649
disorder1655
begruntlea1670
pother1692
disconcert1695
ruffle1701
tempestuate1702
rough1777
caddle1781
to put out1796
upset1805
discomfort1806
start1821
faze1830
bother1832
to put aback1833
to put about1843
raft1844
queer1845
rattle1865
to turn over1865
untranquillize1874
hack1881
rock1881
to shake up1884
to put off1909
to go (also pass) through a phase1913
to weird out1970
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > worry > anxiety > be anxious about [verb (transitive)] > make anxious
carkc1330
vex?a1425
solicita1450
embusy1485
to lie heavy at or to one's hearta1616
to weird out1970
to stress out1983
1970 P. de Lissovoy Feelgood xvii. 177 It was weirding her out to have me around as a member of the house.
1979 L. Bangs Psychotic Reactions (1987) 285 I complained I was getting weirded out around other people because I never saw 'em because all I did was lay in bed with the covers over my head.
1990 San Francisco Chron. 7 Mar. e12/4 All he says is that the idea of two men Doing It really weirds him out—but..these remarks might be seen as encouraging..homophobia.
2002 N.Y. Times Mag. 16 June 51/3 I've been raising goats for years, I love them, so at first the idea of making them secrete spider silk kind of weirded me out.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.c725
adj.c1400v.a1300