idiosyncrasy
idio·syn·crasy/ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkɹəsi/noun
idiosyncrasy is spelled I-D-I-O-S-Y-N-C-R-A-S-Y: 12 letters and 3 syllables (idio·syn·crasy). It appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 100,430th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, idiosyncrasy means “A behavior or way of thinking that is characteristic of a person or a group” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of idiosyncrasy is idiosyncrasies.
How many letters and syllables are in idiosyncrasy?
| Letters | 12: I-D-I-O-S-Y-N-C-R-A-S-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: idio·syn·crasy |
| In writing | about once in every 11 million words; the 100,430th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is idiosyncrasy?
Idiosyncrasy appears about once in every 11 million words in written English, the 100,430th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce idiosyncrasy?
- UK /ˌɪdɪəʊˈsɪŋkɹəsi/
- UK /ˌɪdɪəˈsɪŋkɹəsi/
- US /ˌɪdiəˈsɪŋkɹəsi/
Idiosyncrasy has 3 syllables, split idio·syn·crasy in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-idiosyncrasy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of idiosyncrasy
- idiosyncrasies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does idiosyncrasy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A behavior or way of thinking that is characteristic of a person or a group.
- 2
A peculiar individual reaction to a generally innocuous substance or factor; a risk factor.
- 3
A peculiarity that serves to distinguish or identify.
He mastered the idiosyncrasies of English spelling and speech.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Idiosyncrasy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | idiosyncrasie |
| German | Eigenheit, Eigenart, Eigensinn , Idiosynkrasie |
| Portuguese | idiossincrasia |
| Spanish | idiosincrasia, chiripiorca |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does idiosyncrasy come from?
First attested in 1604, in modern sense since 1665, from Ancient Greek ἰδιοσυγκρασία (idiosunkrasía, “one’s own temperament”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one’s own”) + σύν (sún, “together”) + κρᾶσις (krâsis, “temperament”). By surface analysis, idio- + syn- + -crasy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).