Word of the Day: June 11, 1009 - aberrant

aberrant (uh-ber-uhnt) - adjective

Aberrancy is "departing from the right, normal, or usual course."

First used in the written form around 1820–1830. From the Latin aberrāns, aberrant; and the present participle of aberrāre, meaning "to deviate, go astray."

Traditionally aberrant has been pronounced with stress on the second syllable. In recent years, however, a pronunciation with stress on the first syllable has become equally common and may eventually supplant the older pronunciation. This change perhaps comes from the influence of the words aberration and aberrated, which are stressed on the first syllable.