Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Am I Unique?

Today's Word "sui generis"

sui generis \soo-eye-JEN-ur-us; soo-ee-\ (adjective) - Being the only example of its kind; constituting a class of its own; unique.


"It was indeed when, after groping your way up the long dark spiral staircase that climbs between the thick walls of the steeple, you at last emerged on one of the two lofty platforms, flooded with light and air, that a breathtaking picture opened before you on every side -- a spectacle sui generis." -- Victor Hugo, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'


Sui generis is from Latin, literally meaning "of its own kind": sui, "of its own" + generis, genitive form of genus, "kind."

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