Strange

Strange is an English adjective meaning unusual, unfamiliar, or not previously encountered. Etymology traces to Old French estrange from Latin extraneus “external, foreign,” passing through Middle English forms such as strenge or estrange. In everyday use, strange can describe phenomena, behavior, or places that differ from what is typical or expected.

In science, “strangeness” is a quantum property used to classify certain hadrons containing a strange quark. The concept, introduced in the 1950s–60s by physicists including Murray Gell-Mann and Kazuhiko Nishijima, led to the naming of the strange quark. Strangeness is conserved in strong and electromagnetic interactions but not in weak interactions, a feature that helps explain particular particle decay patterns.

In popular culture, Doctor Strange is a Marvel Comics character, a sorcerer who practices mystic arts and is known as the Sorcerer Supreme. The character has been portrayed in films, beginning with Doctor Strange (2016) and continued in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he is portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch. The term “strange” also appears in works of fiction and in titles such as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

As a surname and in toponyms, Strange appears in various names; in ordinary usage, the word functions as an attributive descriptor for anomalies and unfamiliar phenomena.