OD

n. [ Cf. Icel. ē&unr_;al, Dan. odel allodial, Sw. odal. ] (Law) Among the early and medieval Teutonic peoples, esp. Scandinavians, the heritable land held by the various odalmen constituting a family or kindred of freeborn tribesmen; also, the ownership of such land. The odal was subject only to certain rights of the family or kindred in restricting the freedom of transfer or sale and giving certain rights of redemption in case of change of ownership by inheritance, etc., and perhaps to other rights of the kindred or the tribe. Survivals of the early odal estates and tenure exist in Orkney and Shetland, where it is usually called by the variant form udal. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. (Law) Noting, or pert. to, odal land or ownership. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. [ F., fr. Turk. odaliq chambermaid, fr. oda chamber, room. ] A female slave or concubine in the harem of the Turkish sultan. [ Written also odahlic, odalisk, and odalik. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Not of those that men desire, sleek
Odalisques, or oracles of mode. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. (Teut. Law) A man or woman having odal, or able to share in it by inheritance. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

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). ] 1. Not paired with another, or remaining over after a pairing; without a mate; unmatched; single; as, an odd shoe; an odd glove. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

I hope good luck lies in odd numbers. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Left over after a definite round number has been taken or mentioned; indefinitely, but not greatly, exceeding a specified number; extra. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sixteen hundred and odd years after the earth was made, it was destroyed in a deluge. T. Burnet. [ 1913 Webster ]

There are yet missing of your company
Some few odd lads that you remember not. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Remaining over; unconnected; detached; fragmentary; hence, occasional; inconsiderable; as, odd jobs; odd minutes; odd trifles. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Different from what is usual or common; unusual; singular; peculiar; unique; strange. “An odd action.” Shak. “An odd expression.” Thackeray.
Syn. -- extraordinary; queer. [ 1913 Webster ]

The odd man, to perform all things perfectly, is, in my poor opinion, Joannes Sturmius. Ascham. [ 1913 Webster ]

Patients have sometimes coveted odd things. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. Spectator. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Quaint; unmatched; singular; unusual; extraordinary; strange; queer; eccentric; whimsical; fantastical; droll; comical. See Quaint. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A person with an unusual or odd personality; an eccentric person. [ informal ]
Syn. -- eccentric, eccentric person, geek. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. Hence: Anything unusual in its class. [ PJC ]

Pluto is an oddball among its eight sister planets. It's the smallest in both size and mass, and has the most elliptical orbit. It moves in a plane tilted markedly away from the other planets' orbits. Moreover, Pluto is the only planet made almost entirely of ice. Ron Cohen (Science News, Feb. 27, 1999, p. 139)

a. Eccentric; very unusual; strange; bizarre; as, an oddball request. [ informal ] [ PJC ]

A member of a secret order, or fraternity, styled the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, established for mutual aid and social enjoyment. [ 1913 Webster ]