Peculiar People

noun

The Quakers.

Meanings

nounthe Peculiar People pl (plural only)
  1. Any of several Christian sects who have used this biblical description as a self-appellation, as:
    1. pluralplural onlyChristianityThe Quakers.
    2. pluralplural onlyChristianityThe Amish.
    3. historicalpluralplural onlyChristianityA Christian movement, originally an offshoot of the Wesleyan denomination, founded in 1838 in Rochford, Essex.

Origin

In reference to any of several places in the Bible where "a peculiar people", a people set apart from others, is mentioned, such as Deuteronomy 14:2, 1 Peter 2:9, and Titus 2:14: for example, "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth" (Deuteronomy 14:2).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Peculiar People. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Peculiar%20People

MLA

“Peculiar People.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Peculiar%20People. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Peculiar People,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Peculiar%20People.

Source: Peculiar People on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.