əˈnäməlē, -li noun
( -es )
Etymology: Latin anomalia, from Greek anōmalia, from anōmalos + -ia
1. : the state or fact of being out of place, out of true, or out of a normal or expected position : inequality , unevenness : as
a. : the angular distance of a planet from its perihelion as seen from the sun
b.
(1) : the difference between the mean of any meteorological element or phase of that element over a given time at a particular place and the mean of the same element or phase over the same time for all other points on the same parallel of latitude
(2) : the difference between the current value of a meteorological element and its long-term average
c. : a deviation of optical properties of a crystal from its apparent symmetry as expressed in its external form — usually used in the phrase optical anomaly
2. : deviation from the common rule : irregularity
that supreme triumph of British anomaly , the unreformed House of Lords — R.W.Chapman
3. : something anomalous : something irregular or abnormal: as
a. : a word form, set of inflectional forms, construction, or idiom analogous to few or no others (as the conjugation of the verb to be or stood, past tense of stand )
b. biology : a deviation in excess of normal variation from the form characteristic of a natural group
c. geology : a local departure from the general regional conditions (as of gravity, magnetism, radioactivity, or topography)
4. : something out of keeping especially with established or accepted notions of fitness or order
her religion was no anomaly but perfectly natural — George Santayana