bizarre
pronunciation
How to pronounce bizarre in British English:
UK [bɪˈzɑː(r)]
How to pronounce bizarre in American English:
US [bɪˈzɑːr]
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- Adjective:
- conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual
Word Origin
- bizarre
- bizarre: [17] Bizarre can probably be traced back to Italian bizzarro, of unknown origin, which meant ‘angry’. It passed into Spanish as bizarro, meaning ‘brave’, and then found its way into French, where its meaning gradually mutated from ‘brave’ to ‘odd’ – which is where English got it from. It used to be thought that the French word might have come from Basque bizarra ‘beard’ (the reasoning being that a man with a beard must be a brave, dashing fellow), which would have made bizarre almost unique as a word of Basque origin in English (the only genuine one in everyday use now is the acronymic name ETA, standing for Euzkadi ta Azkatasuna ‘Basque Homeland and Liberty’), but this is now not thought likely.
- bizarre (adj.)
- 1640s, from French bizarre "odd, fantastic" (16c.), originally "handsome, brave," perhaps from Basque bizar "a beard" (the notion being of bearded Spanish soldiers making a strange impression on the French); alternative etymology traces it to Italian bizarro "angry, fierce, irascible," from bizza "fit of anger."
Example
- 1. The japanese have some bizarre culinary and sexual practices .
- 2. But while this bizarre behaviour is well known , its effectiveness has never before been tested .
- 3. It was at this point that mr. jackson 's bizarre private life began to overshadow his music .
- 4. The bizarre fact is that the practice of buying the taliban 's protection is not a secret .
- 5. The bizarre sight is formed due to a high concentration of dust and molecular gas absorbing practically all the visible light emitted from background stars .