Pronunciation: /ˈsɛl.kuːθ/ Part of speech: adjective Definition: Strange, rare, and unfamiliar, yet carrying a sense of wonder and marvellous beauty. Etymology: <cite index="2-1">*Selcouth* comes from Old English *seldcūth*, from *seldan* ("seldom") and *cūth* ("known").</cite> <cite index="1-1">It passed through Middle English as *selcouth*, built from the prefix *seld-* ("rarely") joined to *cūþ* ("known"), making it literally "seldom known."</cite> <cite index="7-10,7-11">The OED's earliest evidence for it dates to before 1300, appearing in the *Early English Psalter*, and it is also recorded as an adjective from the Old English period, before 1150.</cite> The word is a distant cousin of couth and uncouth, all rooted in the same Proto-Germanic *kunþaz*, meaning "known." Synonyms: wondrous, uncanny, preternatural, marvelous, outlandish, singular In a sentence: The hikers paused at the canyon's rim, speechless before the selcouth tapestry of rust and violet carved into the rock over a thousand centuries.