distinctive

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪˈstɪŋk.tɪv/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Old French distinctif and directly from Medieval Latin distīnctīvus,^[2][3] from Latin distīnct-, the past participle stem of distinguere, to separate, mark off (see distinguish and distinct).^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Serving to mark a difference or peculiarity: the early 15th century in Etymonline,^[2] 1583 in the OED.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Markedly individual or characteristic is from the 1580s.^[2] Having the power to discriminate is from 1646,^[5] and the noun, a distinguishing mark, from 1816.^[5] In linguistics a distinctive feature, one that can tell one phoneme from another, is from 1927.^[5]

Timeline

• early 15th century – distinctive.^[2]
• 1580s – markedly individual.^[2]
• 1646 – discriminating.^[5]
• 1927 – in linguistics.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Serving to identify or distinguish: a distinctive smell.
2. Characteristic or typical.
3. (linguistics) Of a feature that distinguishes one phoneme from another.

Word family

• distinctively
• distinctiveness
• indistinctive
• nondistinctive
• distinctive feature

Related words

• distinct
• distinction
• distinguish

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. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press