different between freak vs strangeness

English

Alternative forms

• freake (obsolete)
• freik, freke, frick (Scotland)

Etymology 1

1560, "sudden change of mind, whim", of uncertain origin. Probably from a dialectal word related to Middle English frekynge (“capricious behaviour; whims”) and Middle English friken, frikien (“to move briskly or nimbly”), from Old English frician (“to leap, dance”), or Middle English frek (“insolent, daring”), from Old English frec (“desirous, greedy, eager, bold, daring”), from Proto-Germanic *frekaz, *frakaz (“hard, efficient, greedy, bold, audacious”) (in which case, it would be related to the noun under Etymology 2). Compare Old High German freh (“eager”), Old English fr?cne (“dangerous, daring, courageous, bold”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: fr?k, IPA^(key): /f?i?k/
• Rhymes: -i?k

Noun

freak (plural freaks)

1. A sudden change of mind

   Synonyms: whim, vagary, caprice, fancy; see also Thesaurus:whim
2. Someone or something that is markedly unusual or unpredictable.

   Synonyms: anomaly, outlier; see also Thesaurus:anomaly
3. A hippie.

   Synonyms: longhair, treehugger
4. A drug addict.

   Synonyms: druggie, user; see also Thesaurus:addict
5. (of a person) A nonconformist, especially in appearance, social behavior, sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or business practices; an oddball, especially in physiology (e.g., "circus freak"); unique, sometimes in a displeasing way.

   Synonyms: odd duck, weirdo; see also Thesaurus:strange person, Thesaurus:maverick

6. (bodybuilding) A person whose physique has grown far beyond the normal limits of muscular development; often a bodybuilder weighing more than 260 pounds (117.934 kilos).
7. An enthusiast, or person who has an obsession with, or extreme knowledge of, something.

   Synonyms: fanatic, geek; see also Thesaurus:fan

8. (informal, sometimes endearing) A very sexually perverse individual.

   Synonyms: horn dog, hypersexual, pervert; see also Thesaurus:libidinist

9. (dated) A streak of colour; variegation.

   Synonyms: (birds) superciliary, vein

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

freak (third-person singular simple present freaks, present participle freaking, simple past and past participle freaked)

1. (intransitive) To react extremely or irrationally, usually under distress or discomposure.
   • 1994, James Earl Hardy, B-Boy Blues: A Seriously Sexy, Fiercely Funny, Black-On-Black Love Story, (Alyson Publishing), page 107

     But after one night turned into five days, I was freaking out. I missed him.

2. (transitive) To make greatly distressed and/or a discomposed appearance.
3. (slang, transitive, intransitive) To be placed or place someone under the influence of a psychedelic drug, (especially) to experience reality withdrawal, or hallucinations (nightmarish), to behave irrational or unconventional due to drug use.
4. (transitive, dated) To streak; to variegate
   • 1930, Robert Seymour Bridges, The Testament of Beauty: A Poem in Four Books, (Literary Criticism), page 20

     […] in fine diaper of silver and mother-of-pearl freaking the intense azure; Now scurrying close overhead, wild ink-hued random racers that fling sheeted […]

Derived terms

• freak out

Translations

Adjective

freak (not comparable)

1. Strange, weird, unexpected.

   Synonyms: freakish; see also Thesaurus:strange, Thesaurus:lucky

Derived terms

• freak accident

Translations

Further reading

• freak in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• freak in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Etymology 2

From Middle English freke, freike (“a bold man, warrior, man, creature”), from Old English freca (“a bold man, warrior, hero”), from Proto-Germanic *frekô (“an active or eager man, warrior, wolf”), from *frekaz (“active, bold, desirous, greedy”), from Proto-Indo-European *pereg-, *spereg- (“to shrug, be quick, twitch, splash, blast”). Cognate with Old Norse freki (“greedy or avaricious one, a wolf”), Old High German freh (“eager”), German frech, Old English fr?cne (“dangerous, daring, courageous, bold”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: fr?k, IPA^(key): /f?i?k/
• Rhymes: -i?k

Noun

freak (plural freaks)

1. A man, particularly a bold, strong, vigorous man.
2. (Britain dialectal, Scotland) A fellow; a petulant young man.

Anagrams

• Kafer, faker

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English freak.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /frik/, /fri?k/
• Hyphenation: freak
• Rhymes: -ik

Noun

freak m (plural freaks, diminutive freakje n)

1. freak (oddball)
2. freak (dedicated fan)

English

Etymology

From strange +? -ness.

Noun

strangeness (usually uncountable, plural strangenesses)

1. (uncountable) The state or quality of being strange, odd or weird.

   Synonyms: oddity, weirdness; see also Thesaurus:strangeness

2. (countable) The product or result of being strange.
3. (particle physics) One of the quantum numbers of subatomic particles, depending upon the relative number of strange quarks and anti-strange quarks.

   Coordinate term: charm

Related terms

• strange
• stranger
• strangely

Translations

Further reading

• strangeness on Wikipedia.Wikipedia