Literary notes about aberrant (AI summary)
The term "aberrant" is employed to characterize deviations from a recognized norm, whether referring to physical structure, behavior, or conceptual form. In literature, it is often associated with biological or anatomical irregularities—such as a modified swimming organ in gastropods [1] or unusual arterial configurations [2]—highlighting departures in natural design. At the same time, it is used metaphorically to denote aberrations in thought, artistic expression, or social behavior, as seen in discussions of distorted lyrical forms [3] or unconventional temperaments [4]. Thus, "aberrant" functions as a versatile descriptive tool, emphasizing divergence from expected patterns across a wide range of literary and scientific contexts [5][6].
- An aberrant group of the Gasteropods, in which the foot is modified so as to form a swimming organ.
— from The Ancient Life History of the Earth A Comprehensive Outline of the Principles and Leading Facts of Palæontological Science by Henry Alleyne Nicholson - This aberrant artery anastomosed below the elbow-joint with the radial side of the radial artery.
— from On the Genesis of Species by St. George Jackson Mivart - It consists of 479 lines, which seem to be rhythmical or aberrant Alexandrines; the rhymes uncertain in number, chiefly masculine.
— from Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries, Vol. 1 by Henry Hallam - His nature was tense and intense, very excitable and subject to aberrant moods—and he was often the victim of a false ply, as the French would say.
— from Souvenir of the George Borrow CelebrationNorwich, July 5th, 1913 by James Hooper - The more aberrant any form is, the greater must be the number of connecting forms which have been exterminated and utterly lost.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - He must recognize in it a unity of plan; and even those things which appear aberrant, irregular, or noxious must have their place in this plan.
— from The Origin of the World According to Revelation and Science by Dawson, John William, Sir
