lusus naturae

(ˈluːsʊs næˈtʊəriː)

a freak, mutant, or monster. Also called: lusus

[C17: Latin: whim of nature]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

lusus naturae - a person or animal that is markedly unusual or deformed

freak, monstrosity, monster

leviathan - the largest or most massive thing of its kind; "it was a leviathan among redwoods"; "they were assigned the leviathan of textbooks"

mutant, mutation, sport, variation - (biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration

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References in classic literature

'The semblance of a human face to be formed on the side of a mountain, or in the fracture of a small stone, by a lusus naturae [freak of nature].

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After much debate, they concluded unanimously, that I was only RELPLUM SCALCATH, which is interpreted literally LUSUS NATURAE; a determination exactly agreeable to the modern philosophy of Europe, whose professors, disdaining the old evasion of occult causes, whereby the followers of Aristotle endeavoured in vain to disguise their ignorance, have invented this wonderful solution of all difficulties, to the unspeakable advancement of human knowledge.

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a lusus naturae! a monster, that nature has delighted to form, in order to exhibit her power!

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