differentia
Americannoun
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differentiae
plural
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the character or attribute by which one species is distinguished from all others of the same genus.
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the character or basic factor by which one entity is distinguished from another.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of differentia
From Latin, dating back to 1820–30; see origin at difference
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It has also been called by some the differentia numerica, and by Scotists the haecceitas.
From Ontology or the Theory of Being by Peter Coffey
It would be difficult to find a stronger differentia from the work of the mere playwright, who invariably thinks first of the temporary conditions of success, and accordingly loses the success which is not temporary.
From A History of Elizabethan Literature by George Saintsbury
This something has been called—after the analogy of the differentia specifica which differentiates species within a genus—the differentia individua of the individual.
From Ontology or the Theory of Being by Peter Coffey
The same is true of the differentia individua as compared with the natura specifica in the abstract.
From Ontology or the Theory of Being by Peter Coffey
Universality not the differentia of aesthetic pleasure, 40 et seq.
From The Sense of Beauty Being the Outlines of Aesthetic Theory by George Santayana
Similarly, the definition of the differentiae will be applicable to the species and to the individuals.
From The Categories by E. M. Edghill
After all, what are the chief differentiae between man and the brute creation but that he clothes himself, that he cooks his food, that he uses articulate speech?
From On the Art of Writing Lectures delivered in the University of Cambridge 1913-1914 by Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
All people can see this; but not all people can see further, or define the differentiae.
From Thoughts on Religion by Charles Gore
The Vicar, you must understand, had done his best to inculcate the recognised differentiae of a gentleman.
From The Wonderful Visit by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Similarly the differentiae are predicated of the species and of the individuals.
From The Categories by E. M. Edghill
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