Etymology

freak of nature

Today it means: A monstrosity; a malformation; an abnormal organism. Full definition →

Latin lūsus nātūrae
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The story

  1. Latin · calque oflūsus nātūrae
  2. English todayfreak of nature

From lusus naturae, from Latin lūsus nātūrae (literally “sport of nature”), originally used to explain fossils or abnormalities such as two-headed snakes.

Words from the same roots

Latinlūsus nātūrae all →

lusus naturaesport of nature

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.