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characteristic

Etymology and origin of the English word characteristic

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1646
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (χαρακτηριστικός)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌkær.ək.təˈrɪs.tɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from character and -istic, on the model of Greek χαρακτηριστικός (kharaktēristikós),[2][3] or from French caractéristique or Medieval Latin characteristicus,[4] from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr), a stamping tool, a distinctive mark.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective, indicating the essential quality of something, and the noun, a distinctive trait, are first attested in the 1660s in Etymonline;[2] 1646 and 1647 in Merriam-Webster.[3]

Semantic evolution

Characteristics, distinctive traits, is also from the 1660s,[2] and characteristically from the 1640s.[2] In mathematics, the characteristic of a logarithm is its whole-number part (1727–51).[5][6] Scientific compounds such as characteristic curve (1902) and characteristic radiation (1908) followed.[5]

Timeline

  • 1640s – characteristically.[2]
  • 1646 – characteristic.[3]
  • 1660s – a distinctive trait.[2]
  • 1727–51 – in mathematics.[5]
  • 1902 – characteristic curve.[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A distinguishing feature, quality or trait.
  2. (mathematics) The whole-number part of a logarithm.

Adjective

  1. Typical of a particular person or thing; distinctive.

Word family

  • characteristically
  • noncharacteristic
  • characteristic function
  • characteristic polynomial
  • characteristic root
  • characteristic vector
  • characteristic value
  • secondary sex characteristic

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Characteristic.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/characteristic. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·