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Posted: **Sat Feb 27, 2021 8:10 pm**

An AWOL Good Word from 2/24/15:

• eccentric •

Pronunciation: ek-sen-trik • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Unconventional, odd, peculiar, departing from the norm. 2. Not having a common center, off center, as an ellipse. 3. Not circular, not concentric.

Notes: Someone once said that only poor people are crazy; rich people are eccentric. Be that as it may, today's Good Word has a synonym with only the last two senses: eccentrical. However, to form the adverb of all senses you must use this form: eccentrically, as in 'to behave eccentrically'. The abstract noun is eccentricity. We may use the adjective itself for the personal noun: "Barry Moore is an eccentric extraordinaire."

In Play: This word is generally used in the metaphoric sense (Meaning No. 1): "Lilly White is an eccentric Southerner who thinks 'damn Yankee' is one word." However, people aren't the only thing that may be eccentric: "Horace brought us here by an eccentric route that took half an hour longer."

Word History: English borrowed today's word from Medieval Latin eccentricus "not having the same center" via Middle French eccentrique. Latin borrowed this word from Greek ekkentros "out of the center, off center", composed of ek- "out of" + kentron "center". Ek- goes back to Proto-Indo-European eghs "out (of)", which turned up in Latin as ex with the same meaning. We see this prefix in many Latin words meaning "out(side)" that English borrowed: external, exterior, and extreme, for example. Greek kentron came from the verb kentein "to prick", leading to the conclusion that the original PIE word had this meaning. Other evidence of this meaning may be found in Breton kentr "spur" and Welsh cethrenu "to goad", which seem to share the same source. (We now offer our gratitude to Gordon Wray, a Canadian engineer who loves poetry, for recommending today's Good Word via the far from eccentric Alpha Agora.)

Posted: **Tue Feb 27, 2024 7:28 am**

I was about to wonder why we don't have 'centric' and decided to look it up. Turns out we do. As it means central, that's the word we use instead, I gather.

Here's a different wondering; why is it only -icity? What's so bad about -ality?

Posted: **Wed Mar 20, 2024 9:18 pm**

Ah, I've always wanted to have just enough money to be considered eccentric rather than crazy.

Posted: **Thu Mar 21, 2024 7:35 am**

So Barbara, do you need more or less money than you currently have, in order to be considered eccentric? Is a crazy person more or less wealthy than an eccentric one?

Posted: **Thu Mar 21, 2024 1:03 pm**

Well, David, my "splurges" have consisted mostly of books (some really gorgeous productions from private presses), travel (to the annual meeting of the user group I'm involved in, to an undeveloped island on the Georgia coast, and "educational" jaunts to places or on subjects I want to learn more about), and theater (Providence is blessed with many competent theater groups, and my husband and I have had subscriptions to as many as five at a time). With my husband's death, I am deaccessioning the books (the local Athenaeum and other special collections are willing), and may have to give up much travel because a bad back means that I can't safely travel alone. (My husband was only partly joking when he said he accompanied me to conferences only to carry my luggage.) That leaves the theater.

So, in my case, I think the quantity of money is a lot less than that desired by many people. I don't gamble; it doesn't interest me. (The most fun I ever had gambling was at a restaurant on the Maryland side of the Potomac, seeing what could be done with $2 worth of nickels in a slot machine, in between helping to polish off a nice pile of steamed crabs on our table. As remember, it lasted a bit more than two hours, and the house won.) I do like interesting food, readily found at restaurants here at least partly because of the presence of a culinary school. (Never ignore the chalkboard with the daily specials, and, if possible, make friends with the chef.)

I guess I have enough to keep me happy. Anyhow, eccentric vs. crazy is in the eyes of the beholder.

Posted: **Mon Mar 25, 2024 5:21 am**

Well Barbara, you certainly don't sound crazy to me. And really, even eccentricity (or Slava's eccentrality) seem a little beyond the activities you describe. It all sounds thoroughly normal although certainly more adventurous than most. Good luck with it all and do continue to have fun despite the real pain of back pain.

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Eccentric

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