Sekirov Dictionary

characteristic

UK /ˌkæɹəktəˈɹɪstɪk/US /ˌkæɹ(ə)ktəˈɹɪstɪk/

noun 4
adjective 2
forms 3

noun4

A distinguishing feature of a person or thing, a part of mental or physical behavior.
The distinguishing features of a navigational light on a lighthouse etc by which it can be identified (colour, pattern of flashes etc.).
•
The integer part of a logarithm.
- Similarly, the characteristic for .003 is −3, and the characteristic for .0003 is −4. — 1961
•
For a given field or ring, a natural number that is either the smallest positive number n such that n instances of the multiplicative identity (1) summed together yield the additive identity (0) or, if no such number exists, the number 0.
- The characteristic of a field, if non-zero, must be a prime number.

adjective2

•
Indicating a distinguishing feature of a person or thing; typical.
- Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. — 1918
•
(no longer used) Describing or pertaining to personal characters or character types; characterful.
- “Great men have their surprising peculiarities,” I observed inanely. “[…] How did the great feminist wind up this very characteristic episode?” — 1911

forms

characteristics · more characteristic · most characteristic

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