characteristic
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˌkæɹəktəˈɹɪstɪk/
note: without the Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˌkæɹ(ə)ktəˈɹɪstɪk/
note: without the Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: [ˌkʰæɹəktəˈɹɪstɪk]
note: General American, Mary–marry–merry merger
ipa: /ˌkɛɹəktəˈɹɪstɪk/
rhymes: -ɪstɪk
Forms: form: characteristics
Etymology: From Ancient Greek χαρακτηριστικός (kharaktēristikós), from χαρακτηρίζω (kharaktērízō, “to designate by a characteristic mark”), from χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “a mark, character”). By surface analysis, character + -istic.
Senses: glosses: A distinguishing feature of a person or thing, a part of mental or physical behavior.
examples: text: It is evident, moreover, that as the logarithms of numbers, which are tenfold, the one of the other, do not differ except in their characteristics, it is sufficient that the tables contain the fractional parts only of the logarithms.
ref: 1830, Solomon Pearson Miles, Thomas Sherwin, Mathematical Tables: Comprising Logarithms of Numbers, […] , page 69:
text: As the sine and cosine are always proper fractions their logarithms are negative, i.e. have negative characteristics. When we are given an angle, it is impossible to say, from inspection of the angle, what the characteristic of the logarithm of its sine, cosine or tangent may be; so the characteristics have to be printed with the mantissae.
ref: 1911, F. T. Swanwick, Elementary Trigonometry, Cambridge University Press, page 60:
text: Similarly, the characteristic for .003 is −3, and the characteristic for .0003 is −4.
ref: 1961, “Principles and Applications of Mathematics for Communications-Electronics”, in U.S, Department of the Army, page 69:
topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: The integer part of a logarithm.
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: The distinguishing features of a navigational light on a lighthouse etc by which it can be identified (colour, pattern of flashes etc.).
examples: text: The characteristic of a field, if non-zero, must be a prime number.
text: 1962 [John Wiley & Sons], Nathan Jacobson, Lie Algebras, 1979, Dover, page 289,
In this chapter we study the problem of classifying the finite-dimensional simple Lie algebras over an arbitrary field of characteristic 0.
text: 1992, Simeon Ivanov (translator), P. M. Gudivok, E. Ya. Pogorilyak, On Modular Representations of Finite Groups over Integral Domains, Simeon Ivanov (editor), Galois Theory, Rings, Algebraic Groups and Their Applications, American Mathematical Society, page 87,
Let R be a Noetherian factorial ring of characteristic p which is not a field.
text: Traditionally, a complete, discretely valued field of characteristic zero, the maximal ideal of whose valuation ring is generated by the prime number p, has been called a p-adic field. In our terminology, the valuation ring of a p-adic field is a Cohen ring of characteristic zero whose residue field has characteristic p, and consequently a p-adic field is simply the quotient field of such a Cohen ring.
ref: 1993, S. Warner, Topological Rings, Elsevier (North-Holland), page 424:
topics: algebra
mathematics
sciences
qualifier: field theory; ring theory; field theory; ring theory
glosses: 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.
Synonyms: sense: distinguishing feature of a person or thing
word: attribute
sense: distinguishing feature of a person or thing
word: hallmark
sense: distinguishing feature of a person or thing
word: idiosyncrasy
sense: distinguishing feature of a person or thing
word: mannerism
sense: distinguishing feature of a person or thing
word: quality
sense: distinguishing feature of a person or thing
word: tendency
sense: distinguishing feature of a person or thing
word: trademark
sense: distinguishing feature of a person or thing
word: trait
word: characteristic
word: designation
word: distinction
word: distinctiveness
word: feature
word: property
word: parameter
word: race
word: touch
word: whatness
Hypernyms: word: entity
word: individualness
Hyponyms: word: physical property
word: chemical property
word: personal quality
Coordinate terms: sense: part of a logarithm
word: mantissa
Derived terms: acquired characteristic
biocharacteristic
defining characteristic
demand characteristic
Euler characteristic
light characteristic
secondary sex characteristic
semicharacteristic
sex characteristic
subcharacteristic
Related terms: characteristically
mantissa