Erratic
/ɪˈræt.ɪk/noun
Deviating from the normal or expected course; irregular or inconsistent.
Did you know?Erratic comes from Latin *erraticus*, and the word was first used for rocks that seemed “out of place,” which is why it later came to mean unpredictable behavior.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ers-
“to wander, to stray”
Latin
Latin
errare
“to wander, stray, make a mistake”
Latin
Latin
erraticus
“wandering, roving”
Late Latin
Latin
erraticus
“a wandering stone or boulder”
16th Century
English
erratic
“wandering, irregular”
Modern English
English
erratic
“irregular, unpredictable, inconsistent”
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