Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

characteristic

 
Dictionary: char·ac·ter·is·tic   (kăr'ək-tə-rĭs'tĭk) pronunciation
adj.
Being a feature that helps to distinguish a person or thing; distinctive: heard my friend's characteristic laugh; the stripes that are characteristic of the zebra.

n.
  1. A feature that helps to identify, tell apart, or describe recognizably; a distinguishing mark or trait.
  2. Mathematics. The integral part of a logarithm as distinguished from the mantissa: The characteristic of the logarithm 6.3214 is 6.
  3. Mathematics. The least number of times the multiplicative identity in a ring needs to be added to itself to reach the additive identity, or, if the additive identity is never reached, zero. The integers have a characteristic of zero; the integers modulus 12 have a characteristic of 12.
characteristically char'ac·ter·is'ti·cal·ly adv.

Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia: characteristic
Top

In logarithms and floating point, the number that indicates where the decimal point is placed.

Download Computer Desktop Encyclopedia to your iPhone/iTouch

Thesaurus: characteristic
Top

adjective

    Serving to identify or set apart an individual or group: distinctive, individual, peculiar, typical, vintage. See same/different/compare.

noun

    A distinctive element: attribute, character, feature, mark, peculiarity, property, quality, savor, trait. See be.

Antonyms: characteristic
Top

adj

Definition: typical; distinguishing
Antonyms: abnormal, uncharacteristic, untypical

n

Definition: typical feature, trait
Antonyms: abnormality


Veterinary Dictionary: characteristic
Top

1. character.
2. typical of an individual or other entity. See also character.

  • c. curve — the photographic characteristics of an emulsion on an x-ray film based on plotting the density of the image obtained against the logarithm of the exposure under specified conditions of development.
  • c. radiation — nearly homogeneous radiation produced in the target of the x-ray tube when orbital electrons are knocked out and replaced by electrons from outer shells.
  • c. x-rays — see characteristic radiation (above).
Word Tutor: characteristic
Top
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: Something that makes a person or thing different from others.

pronunciation The most characteristic mark of a great mind is to choose some one important object, and pursue it for life. — Aikin Barbauld (1743-1825).

Wikipedia: Characteristic
Top

Characteristic (from the Greek word for a property or attribute (= trait) of an entity[citation needed]) may refer to:

In physics and engineering:

In mathematics

In fiction:

References

  1. ^ Livingstone, Ian (1982). Dicing with Dragons. Routledge. pp. 71–80. ISBN 0710094663. 

Misspellings: characteristics
Top

Common misspelling(s) of characteristics

  • charistics

Translations: Characteristic
Top

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - karakteristisk
n. - karakteristik, kendetegn

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    karakteristik
  • characteristic radiation    karakteristisk stråling

Nederlands (Dutch)
karaktertrek, karakteristiek, kenmerk

Français (French)
adj. - caractéristique, caractéristique de, typique
n. - caractéristique, trait de caractère, (Math) caractéristique

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    courbe caractéristique
  • characteristic radiation    radiation caractéristique

Deutsch (German)
n. - Charakterzug, Kennzeichen, Merkmal
adj. - charakteristisch, kennzeichnend

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    Kennlinie
  • characteristic radiation    Röntgenstrahlung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - χαρακτηριστικό γνώρισμα
adj. - χαρακτηριστικός, αντιπροσωπευτικός, προσιδιάζων, ιδιότυπος

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    χαρακτηριστική καμπύλη
  • characteristic radiation    χαρακτηριστική ακτινοβολία

Italiano (Italian)
caratteristica, caratteristico

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    curva caratteristica
  • characteristic radiation    radiazione caratteristica

Português (Portuguese)
n. - característica (f)
adj. - característico

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    curva (f) característica
  • characteristic radiation    radiação (f) característica

Русский (Russian)
характеристика, характерный

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    характеристическая кривая
  • characteristic radiation    характерическая радиация

Español (Spanish)
adj. - característico
n. - característica, peculiaridad

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    curva característica
  • characteristic radiation    radiación característica

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kännetecken, kännemärke
adj. - karakteristisk, betecknande

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
特有的, 典型的, 表示特性的, 特性, 特色, 特征

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    特性曲线
  • characteristic radiation    标识辐射

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 特有的, 典型的, 表示特性的
n. - 特性, 特色, 特徵

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    特性曲線
  • characteristic radiation    標識輻射

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 특색을 이루는
n. - 특질, 지표

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 特質のある, 独特の, 特有な, 特有の
n. - 特質, 特徴, 特性, 特色, 指標

idioms:

  • characteristic curve    特性曲線
  • characteristic radiation    固有放射, 特性放射

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) ميزة, طابع, صفه (صفه) مميز, خصيصا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮אופייני‬
n. - ‮תכונה, מאפיין‬


Best of the Web: characteristic
Top

Some good "characteristic" pages on the web:


Math
mathworld.wolfram.com
 
 
 
Learn More
metaplastic
polledness
turdine

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. THIS COPYRIGHTED DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY.
All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.
© 1981-2009 Computer Language Company Inc.  All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Antonyms. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Characteristic" Read more
Answers Corporation Misspellings. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more