# exotic

Pronunciation: US say "ig-ZAH-tik" /ɪɡˈzɑtɪk/; say "ig-ZOT-ik" UK /ɪɡˈzɒtɪk/, AUS /ɪɡˈzɔtɪk/

## Adjective

1. Coming from a foreign country, especially in a way that seems exciting or unfamiliar.
   - Simple: Coming from a faraway place and feeling exciting or unusual.
   - _The resort drew tourists with its exotic beaches and unfamiliar cuisine._
   - _He returned from his travels with stories of exotic markets and rare spices._
2. Not native to a given ecosystem; introduced from another region.
   - Simple: Not naturally found in an area, but brought there from somewhere else.
   - _Conservationists work to remove exotic plants that outcompete native vegetation._
   - _The island's birds declined sharply after exotic predators arrived._
5. Originating from beyond Earth; extraterrestrial or alien.
   - Simple: Coming from another planet, not from Earth.
   - _The novel imagines exotic civilizations spread across the galaxy._
   - _Astronomers speculated about exotic organisms adapted to a methane sea._
6. Relating to a financial option whose features make it more complex than the options commonly traded on the market.
   - Simple: Describing an investment deal with extra features that make it harder to understand than the common kinds.
   - _Traders priced the exotic option using complex computer models._
   - _The fund's losses came from exotic derivatives few analysts could value._
7. Relating to a bet, such as a trifecta, in which the bettor predicts the finishing order of several competitors across one or more races.
   - Simple: Describing a bet where you must pick how several racers will finish.
   - _Seasoned bettors favor exotic wagers for their large payouts._
   - _The track introduced a new exotic bet combining results from two races._

## Noun

3. A performer who dances erotically, often removing clothing, as entertainment.
   - Simple: A dancer who removes clothing as part of a stage performance.
   - _The manager booked two exotics for the late-night show._
   - _He met his wife when she was working as an exotic downtown._
4. A living thing not native to a given environment, having come from another region.
   - Simple: A living thing that does not naturally belong in an area, but came from somewhere else.
   - _Ecologists tracked how the exotic spread through the wetland._
   - _Many exotics arrive as stowaways in shipping containers._
8. A particle of an unusual type, not among the ordinary, well-understood particles of matter.
   - Simple: A tiny particle of an unusual kind that is not one of the common, everyday ones.
   - _The collider produced an exotic that decayed almost instantly._
   - _Researchers combed the data for signs of rare exotics._

## Origin

Borrowed from Middle French exotique, from Latin exōticus, ultimately from Ancient Greek exōtikós meaning "foreign," literally "from the outside," built on the element exō- ("outside") from ex ("out of").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/exotic (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).