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:
Disinterestedness not the differentia of aesthetic pleasure, 37 et seq.
From The Sense of Beauty Being the Outlines of Aesthetic Theory by George Santayana
Being without a serviceable differentia, he is unable to mark off the field of psychology from contiguous territory.
From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Boyd H. Bode
It is presupposed, of course, that the behavior with which psychology is concerned is of a distinctive sort; but the differentia is unfortunately the very thing that the "behaviorist" has hitherto left out of account.
From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Boyd H. Bode
Such an idea has the differentia of intelligence.
From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Boyd H. Bode
To quote the differentia of Sir Oliver Lodge: “A solid has volume and shape; a liquid has volume, but no shape; a gas has neither volume nor shape.”
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various
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 A. C. (Albert Charles) Seward
But while none of these twenty or more definitions is logical in the sense just defined, they all present one or other of the differentiae given by those in the text.
From Darwin, and After Darwin, Volume 2 Post-Darwinian Questions: Heredity and Utility by George John Romanes
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 August Weismann
Similarly, the definition of the differentiae will be applicable to the species and to the individuals.
From The Categories by E. M. Edghill
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
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.
