differentia
Americannoun
-
the character or attribute by which one species is distinguished from all others of the same genus.
-
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:
Such an idea has the differentia of intelligence.
From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Bode, Boyd H.
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 Saintsbury, George
The attribute or attributes whereby a species is distinguished from other species of the same genus, is called its differentia or differentiæ.
From Logic, Inductive and Deductive by Minto, William
Disinterestedness not the differentia of aesthetic pleasure, 37 et seq.
From The Sense of Beauty Being the Outlines of Aesthetic Theory by Santayana, George
The formation of such rules, resting as it does on the power of framing and applying general conceptions, is the prime differentia of human morality from animal behavior.
From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Park, Robert Ezra
If genera are different and co-ordinate, their differentiae are themselves different in kind.
From The Categories by Edghill, E. M.
It is like as in the study of plants—classification by differentiae.
From Chinese Literature Comprising the Analects of Confucius, the Sayings of Mencius, the Shi-King, the Travels of Fâ-Hien, and the Sorrows of Han by Davis, John Francis, Sir
But it is also essential to the understanding of this thesis that the differentiae of the hereditary factor should be clearly grasped.
From Evolution in Modern Thought by Weismann, August
Some few diseases are, however, unequivocally referred to as infectious in a limited number of passages, e. g. ophthalmia, scabies, and phthisis in the περι διαφορας πυρετων, On the differentiae of fevers, K. vii, p.
From The Legacy of Greece Essays By: Gilbert Murray, W. R. Inge, J. Burnet, Sir T. L. Heath, D'arcy W. Thompson, Charles Singer, R. W. Livingston, A. Toynbee, A. E. Zimmern, Percy Gardner, Sir Reginald Blomfield by Livingstone, R.W.
But it is also essential to the understanding of this thesis that the differentiae of the hereditary factors should be clearly grasped.
From Darwin and Modern Science by Seward, A. C. (Albert Charles)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
