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:
The differentia should include all the members that the term denotes, and it should exclude all that it does not denote.
From English: Composition and Literature by W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
A logical definition consists, then, of two parts: the general term naming the genus, and the limiting term naming the distinguishing attribute called the differentia.
From English: Composition and Literature by W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
What, according to Hobhouse, are the differentia of human morality from animal behavior?
From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Robert Ezra Park
Swift and Chatterton, with all their vast talents, wanted, we think, the fine differentia, and the genial element of real poetic genius.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 15, August, 1851 by Various
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
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
It is the mark of substances and of differentiae that, in all propositions of which they form the predicate, they are predicated univocally.
From The Categories by E. M. Edghill
Similarly the differentiae are predicated of the species and of the individuals.
From The Categories by E. M. Edghill
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
All people can see this; but not all people can see further, or define the differentiae.
From Thoughts on Religion by Charles Gore
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.
