As used in the phrase "peculiar people" in 1 Peter 2:9, is derived from the Lat. peculium, and denotes, as rendered in the Revised Version ("a people for God's own possession"), a special possession or property. The church is the "property" of God, his "purchased possession" (Ephesians 1:14; R.V., "God's own possession").

Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (a.) One's own; belonging solely or especially to an individual; not possessed by others; of private, personal, or characteristic possession and use; not owned in common or in participation.

2. (a.) Particular; individual; special; appropriate.

3. (a.) Unusual; singular; rare; strange; as, the sky had a peculiar appearance.

4. (n.) That which is peculiar; a sole or exclusive property; a prerogative; a characteristic.

5. (n.) A particular parish or church which is exempt from the jurisdiction of the ordinary.