Etymology : euphemism for God
Pronunciation :
Function : interjection
Date : 1695
1. leaving a remainder of one when divided by two, not divisible by two (Mathematics). strange; irregular; random; extra. odd\odd\ , a. [compar. odder ; superl. oddest.] [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 place (cf. e. point, for change of meaning).].
2. not paired with another, or remaining over after a pairing; without a mate; unmatched; single; as, an odd shoe; an odd glove.
3. 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.
4. 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. burnet. there are yet missing of your company some few odd lads that you remember not.
5. remaining over; unconnected; detached; fragmentary; hence, occasional; inconsiderable; as, odd jobs; odd minutes; odd trifles.
6. different from what is usual or common; unusual; singular; peculiar; unique; strange. "an odd action." "an odd expression." the odd man, to perform all things perfectly, is, in my poor opinion, joannes sturmius. patients have sometimes coveted odd things. 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.
7. Not paired with another, or remaining over after a pairing; without a mate; unmatched; single; as, an odd shoe; an odd glove.
8. 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.
9. Left over after a definite round number has been taken or mentioned; indefinitely, but not greatly, exceeding a specified number; extra.
10. Remaining over; unconnected; detached; fragmentary; hence, occasional; inconsiderable; as, odd jobs; odd minutes; odd trifles.
11. Different from what is usual or common; unusual; singular; peculiar; unique; strange. not easily explained; "it is odd that his name is never mentioned" not divisible by two an indefinite quantity more than that specified; "invited 30-odd guests" of the remaining member of a pair, of socks e.g.
12. 1. If you describe someone or something as odd, you think that they are strange or unusual. He'd always been odd, but not to this extent What an odd coincidence that he should have known your family Something odd began to happen. see also:
odd-looking = peculiar + oddly odd·ly an oddly shaped hill His own boss was behaving rather oddly.
13. You use odd before a noun to indicate that you are not mentioning the type, size, or quality of something because it is not important. moving from place to place where she could find the odd bit of work I knew that Alan liked the odd drink. = occasional.
14. You use odd after a number to indicate that it is only approximate. He has now appeared in sixty odd films `How long have you lived here?' --- `Twenty odd years.'.
15. Odd numbers, such as 3 and 17, are those which cannot be divided exactly by the number two. The odd numbers are on the left as you walk up the street There's an odd number of candidates. ¡Ù even.
16. You say that two things are odd when they do not belong to the same set or pair. I'm wearing odd socks today by the way. ¡Ù matching.
17. The odd man out, the odd woman out, or the odd one out in a particular situation is a person who is different from the other people in it. Azerbaijan has been the odd man out, the one republic not to hold democratic elections Mark and Rick were the odd ones out in claiming to like this cherry beer. see also:
odds, odds and ends. Variant of Od.