WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Odd
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [OE. odde, fr.Icel. oddi a tongue of land, a triangle, an odd number (from the third or odd angle, or point, of a triangle), orig., a point, tip; akin to Icel. oddr point, point of a weapon, Sw. udda odd, udd point, Dan. od, AS. ord, OHG. ort, G. ort plac
Definition : 1. Not paired with another, or remaining over after a pairing; without a mate; unmatched; single; as, an odd shoe; an odd glove.

2. Not divisible by 2 without a remainder; not capable of being evenly paired, one unit with another; as, 1, 3, 7, 9, 11, etc., are odd numbers. I hope good luck lies in odd numbers. Shak.

3. Left over after a definite round number has been taken or mentioned; indefinitely, but not greatly, exceeding a specified number; extra. Sixteen hundred and odd years after the earth was made, it was destroyed in a deluge. T. Burnet. There are yet missing of your company Some few odd lads that you remember not. Shak.

4. Remaining over; unconnected; detached; fragmentary; hence, occasional; inconsiderable; as, odd jobs; odd minutes; odd trifles.

5. Different from what is usual or common; unusual; singular; peculiar; unique; strange. "An odd action." Shak. "An odd expression." Thackeray. The odd man, to perform all things perfectly, is, in my poor opinion, Joannes Sturmius. Ascham. Patients have sometimes coveted odd things. Arbuthnot. Locke's Essay would be a very odd book for a man to make himself master of, who would get a reputation by critical writings. Spectator.

Syn. -- Quaint; unmatched; singular; unusual; extraordinary; strange; queer; eccentric, whimsical; fantastical; droll; comical. See Quaint.

[Compar. Odder; superl. Oddest.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913