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lusus naturae

Pronunciation: /ˈluːsəs nəˈtjʊəɹiː/

The English word “lusus naturae” has 2 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A sportive quality in Nature to which abnormal forms were formerly ascribed; a supposed capricious act of Nature regarded as the cause and origin of anomalies in a given organism.
  2. An organism exhibiting marked such deviation from the norm, seeming to be the result of sportive design; a freak of nature.

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin lūsus nātūrae (literally “sport of Nature”), from lūsus (“playing, sport”) + nātūrae (“of Nature”), genitive singular of nātūra (“Nature”). Originally used to explain fossils (pre-paleontology) or abnormalities such as two-headed snakes.

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