ex|ot|ic

ex|ot|ic «ehg ZOT ihk», adjective, noun.

–adj.

1. from a foreign country; not native: »

We saw many exotic plants at the flower show.

2. fascinating or interesting because strange or different: »

an exotic tropical island.

3. (of a rocket propellant) new, experimental, and high-energy; using an unconventional oxidizer, such as fluorine: »

exotic fuels. Listed as “exotic” and thus presumably further in the future are such systems as a rocket propelled by controlled nuclear explosions (New York Times).

4. Nuclear Physics. highly unstable and hard to capture: »

exotic nuclear particles, exotic resonances.

–n.

an exotic person or thing: »

Mr. Buckley is an American exotic of the far right (New York Times). Mr. Amati's re-enactment of village life and culture in the Italian Alps, from neolithic times to the first century _A.D.…is another archaeological exotic (Punch).

╂[< Latin exōticus < Greek exōtikós < éxō outside < ex out of]

–ex|ot´i|cal|ly, adverb.