distinctive
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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
- Serving to identify or distinguish: a distinctive smell.
- Characteristic or typical.
- (linguistics) Of a feature that distinguishes one phoneme from another.
Word family
- distinctively
- distinctiveness
- indistinctive
- nondistinctive
- distinctive feature
Related words
- distinct
- distinction
- distinguish
References
- ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press