lusus naturae

See also: lusus naturæ and lusûs naturæ

English

Alternative forms

• lusus naturæ (archaic)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin lūsus nātūrae (literally “sport of Nature”), from lūsus (“playing, sport”) + nātūrae (“of Nature”), genitive singular of nātūra (“Nature”). Originally used to explain fossils (pre-paleontology) or abnormalities such as two-headed snakes.

Pronunciation

singular

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: lo͞oʹsəs nətyo͝oəʹrē, lyo͞oʹsəs nətyo͝oəʹrē, IPA^(key): /ˈluːsəs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/, /ˈljuːsəs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/,

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plural

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: lo͞oʹso͞os nətyo͝oəʹrē, lyo͞oʹso͞os nətyo͝oəʹrē, IPA^(key): /ˈluːsuːs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/, /ˈljuːsuːs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/

Noun

lusus naturae (plural lusus naturae or (rare) lusûs naturae)

1. (historical, originally) A sportive quality in Nature to which abnormal forms were formerly ascribed; a supposed capricious act of Nature regarded as the cause and origin of anomalies in a given organism.
   • 1665, R[obert] Hooke, “Obſerv. XXII. Of common Sponges, and ſeveral other Spongiefibrous bodies.”, in Micrographia: Or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 136:

     […] I have obſerv'd ſome meſhes to have 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. ſides, and ſome to have onely one, ſo exceeding various is the Luſus Naturæ in this body.

   • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Sent for to Court. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part II (A Voyage to Brobdingnag), page 199:

     After much Debate, they concluded unanimously, that I was only Relplum Scalcath, which is interpreted literally, Luſus Naturæ; a Determination exactly agreeable to the modern Philoſophy of Europe, whose Profeſſors, diſdaining the old Evaſion of occult Cauſes, whereby the Followers of Ariſtotle endeavour in vain to diſguiſe their Ignorance, have invented this wonderful Solution of all Difficulties, to the unſpeakable Advancement of human Knowledge.

2. (countable) An organism exhibiting marked such deviation from the norm, seeming to be the result of sportive design; a freak of nature.
   • 1831, William Godwin, Thoughts on Man […] ‎^[1], London: Effingham Wilson, pages 24–25:

     All men, the monster and the lusus naturæ excepted, have a certain form, a certain complement of limbs, a certain internal structure, and organs of sense—may we not add further, certain powers of intellect?

   • 1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter XXXII, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 139:

     I was a lusus naturæ, she affirmed, as a village-schoolmistress: she was sure my previous history, if known, would make a delightful romance.

   • 1896, George M. Gould, Walter L. Pyle, Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine‎^[2], page 193:

     Of “Lusus naturæ” none is more curious than that of duplication of the lower extremities. Paré says that on January 9, 1529, there was living in Germany a male infant having four legs and four arms.

   • 1916, James Branch Cabell, “The Lady of all our Dreams”, in The Certain Hour […] ‎^[3], New York: Robert M. McBride, page 239:

     " […] The years slip away fugacious, and Time that brings forth her children only to devour them grins most hellishly, for Time changes all things and cultivates even in herself an appreciation of irony,—and, therefore, why shouldn't I have changed a trifle? You wouldn't have me put on exhibition as a lusus naturæ?"

   • 1921, Aldous Huxley, Crome Yellow‎^[4], London: Chatto & Windus, page 124:

     He avoided all company (being, as he said, ashamed to show himself, the father of a lusus naturæ, among normal, healthy human beings), and took to solitary drinking, which carried him very rapidly to his grave; […] .

Synonyms

• (capricious act of Nature): God's joke
• (variant of seemingly sportive design): freak of nature; lusus (dated, 19th century)

Further reading

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “lusus naturae”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Latin

Noun

lūsus nātūrae m (genitive lūsūs nātūrae); fourth declension

1. a deformed or strangely marked creature; a freak

Declension

Fourth-declension noun with an indeclinable portion.

	singular	plural
nominative	lūsus nātūrae	lūsūs nātūrae
genitive	lūsūs nātūrae	lūsuum nātūrae
dative	lūsuī nātūrae	lūsibus nātūrae
accusative	lūsum nātūrae	lūsūs nātūrae
ablative	lūsū nātūrae	lūsibus nātūrae
vocative	lūsus nātūrae	lūsūs nātūrae