Irregulars

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Entities that do not follow established norms or conventional patterns in various contexts
2. People or things that deviate from usual norms or expected forms
3. Subjects characterized by their departure from regular structure or behavior

Etymology: "Irregulars" is the plural of "irregular," so its history is that of the adjective. The adjective came into Middle English from Old French "irreguler," which in turn descends from Medieval or Late Latin "irrēgulāris," built from the Latin prefix "in-" meaning "not" and "regularis," meaning "regular." The root "regularis" comes from "regula," a rule, so the word's core sense is simply "not according to the rule." The noun "irregulars" is the form that carries the sense of people who break norms. In the military and in journalism it has been used for groups or fighters who operate outside the standard rules of conventional forces, a sense that fits neatly with the Latin idea of something lying outside the rule. The plural form is what gives the word its personal, human sense, turning a quality into a category of people.

Synonyms: anomalies, exceptions, deviations

Antonyms: regulars, norms