Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Being the only example of its kind; unique: "sui generis works like Mary Chesnut's Civil War diary” ( Linda Orr).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Of his, her, its, or their own or peculiar kind; singular.
Wiktionary
- adj. In a class of its own; one of a kind.
- adj. By itself; of its own.
GNU Webster's 1913
- Of his or its own kind.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. constituting a class of its own; unique.
Etymologies
- Latin suī generis : suī, of its own + generis, genitive of genus, kind.
Examples
“The unique Hammus alabamus created by cartoonist Al Capp (perhaps named Salomy rather than Salome) is more obviously sui generis than other hogs.”
“He says that he has read it at least six times aloud to various persons, and calls it a 'beautiful sui generis drama.”
The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“Here, in their vast interior solitudes, far removed from trans-Atlantic influences, are alone to be found, in the more comparative infancy of our country, characters truly sui generis - truly”
“The country gave character to the people: both were wild and poor; both were sui generis in appearance and production, and both seeming to fall away from the richer soil and better people of the western portion of the State.”
The Memories of Fifty Years
“But as soon as you observe closely, you find in each city a peculiar physiognomy, and a peculiar spirit remarkable considering the freedom of movement and intercourse, and you find the organized action of each State sui generis to a degree surprising considering the general similarity of our laws and institutions.”
“Whether or not it is sui generis confined to this disease, or produced in some others, as, for instance, erysipelas, I need not stop to inquire.”
The Harvard Classics Volume 38 Scientific Papers (Physiology, Medicine, Surgery, Geology)
“A man shot to death in a Berlin alley was hardly sui generis these days.”
Garden of Beasts
“Etsi Deus spiritus, spiritus etiam corpus est, sui generis in sua effigie_.”
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 4
“There were always exceptions, sui generis performers such as Mae West and Gracie Allen and Carol Burnett.”
“That heat is a substance sui generis -- supposition that heat is the same with light -- Herschell's expts. on the different sorts of rays emitted by the sun -- three sorts -- their names.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘sui generis’.
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 410 more...
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words+phrases that make great literary characte...
rara avis, houri, sui generis, harry hirsute, semper dolores, bill posters, propterea quod, una tantum, rex begonia, ile dudiable, esme squalor, pussy galore and 18 more...
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Literary critical terms
cathexis, catachresis, polyvocal, alterity, liminality, liminal, limn, erasure, metonymic, intertextual, intrapoetic, contradistinction and 66 more...
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The Collection
A somewhat discriminatory list of words and phrases collected for their euphonic or arcane appeal, interesting etymology, or concise definition of an otherwise unnamed phenomenon or concept.
ready, fire, aim!, 正名, wabi-sabi, antediluvian, philter, draught, experience, verbiage, verbose, elan, coup de main, nonce word and 505 more...
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Law School Terminology
Words that I'm learning in law school
pro tanto, obiter dictum, ratio decidendi, ex facie, ab initio, per saltum, assumpsit, escheat, mandamus, seisin, easement, estoppel and 38 more...
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2008 Wordlist
Hopefully, I'll be using this site for more than one year. It will be fun then to look back and see what new words I found worthy of notice in any given year.
All words spotted in 2008...longanimity, permalancer, breeder, biodegradable, handicapable, gender-neutral, translator, interpreter, translation, interpreting, kleptocracy, fanfiction and 1598 more...
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learning
A list of words whose meanings I am learning, either because a) I don't know the meaning b) I know the meaning, but could stand to better appreciate certain inflections or secondary meanings or c) ...
louche, educe, loam, cob, sclerotic, palliate, axial, syndicalist, ecumenical, sally, fatuous, parvenu and 1216 more...
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my words
interminable, effete, convocation, philistines, malaise, foibles, deputation, anathematized, morass, stalwart, proselytize, abet and 405 more...
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bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1074 more...
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Predictionary
EXPECTED vs. SURPRISE
aberration, exception, spontaneous, synchronicity, startle, waylay, prophecy, zemblanity, inadvertent, atavism, sui generis, anomaly and 127 more...
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Words to have topped the "most wordied, last 7 ...
confelicity, bristol stool scale, blatteroon, toejam, serendipity, oubliette, crepuscular, honeysuckle, mellifluous, sesquipedalian, flaberkin, magnanimous and 141 more...
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word list!!!!
lagniappe
syzygy, bloviate, lagniappe, laconic, condign, umbrage, susurrus, thaumaturgy, capacious, capitulate, glower, repast and 170 more...
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today's word
copemate, quiddity, ere, maugre, argal, cultivar, exurb, spokesmodel, rollick, logy, cadastral, corpulent and 259 more...
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Derideo's Words
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
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dbnews
echolalia, indehiscent, lacrimation, librate, syntagmatic, acquiesce, quiddity, accidie, antinomy, cathexis, ersatz, revenant and 93 more...
- David Nasaw, 'The Chief'. Jul 31, 2009
Latin.
of his, her, its, or their own kind; unique. Jun 18, 2009