Anomaly

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈnɒm.ə.lɪ/

Definitions

1. Something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected
2. A person or thing that differs noticeably from typical patterns or established rules
3. Something that breaks from regular behavior or standard conditions in an unusual or striking way

Etymology: The Greek word "homalos" meant "even" or "level," and its ordinary sense of a smooth, flat surface is what makes "anomaly" work so neatly. Greek speakers formed "anomalos" by attaching the negating prefix "a-" to it, producing "uneven" or "irregular," and then made the noun "anomalia" from that. The core idea is simply the absence of evenness: a path, a road, or a pattern that does not lie flat and predictable. The word passed into Latin as "anomalia," and English borrowed it from there. The modern sense, a deviation from what is expected or normal, grew naturally from that physical picture of unevenness. The Greek root "homos," meaning "same," is also the ancestor of words like "homogeneous," which makes "anomaly" a kind of opposite of sameness.

Synonyms: irregularity, deviation, exception, abnormality, rarity

Antonyms: normality, conformity, regularity, standard, usualness