Eccentric

Adj. Departing from a recognized, conventional, or established norm or pattern.

Eccentric actually traveled to us through the Middle English eccentrik, planetary orbit of which the earth is not at the center, that having come though Medieval Latin from the original Greek. I never realized (read: I never actually thought about the fact) that eccentric was the antonym to concentric. An eccentric (n.) is an odd or unconventional person. The synonyms for the noun version of eccentric are lengthy and humorous- anomaly, crackpot, fruitcake, screwball, crank, nut, nutter, nut case, wacko, whacko (I personally like that they include multiple spellings of wacko- who knew?) But, at the same time, I take offense- I have always though of myself as a bit eccentric, but I certainly do not think I am a wacko (or whatever your choice of spelling happens to be.) I would have preferred to see a definition closer to a person with quirky idiosyncracies. Or something to that effect. But I guess I learn something new every day.

With thanks, as always, to Webster, but also to The Free Dictionary.