a term properly signifying foreign or extraneous, that is, brought from a remote or strange country. In this sense we sometimes say exotic or barbarous terms, and the like. The word is derived from the Greek ἐξωτικός, or ἐξωτερικός, extra, without, or on the outside.

Exotic is chiefly applied to plants which are natives of foreign countries, particularly those brought from the East or West Indies, and which do not naturally grow in Europe.