different between characteristic vs essence

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ??????????????? (kharakt?ristikós), from ??????????? (kharakt?ríz?, “to designate by a characteristic mark”), from ???????? (kharakt?r, “a mark, character”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?kæ??kt????st?k/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k???kt????st?k/
• Rhymes: -?st?k
• Hyphenation: char?ac?te?ris?tic

Adjective

characteristic (comparative more characteristic, superlative most characteristic)

1. Being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing.

Synonyms

• distinctive
• exclusive
• idiosyncratic
• indicative
• representative
• signature
• specific
• typical

Antonyms

• uncharacteristic
• untypical

Derived terms

• characteristic function
• characteristicness

Translations

Noun

characteristic (plural characteristics)

1. A distinguishing feature of a person or thing.
2. (mathematics) The integer part of a logarithm.
   • 1830, Solomon Pearson Miles, Thomas Sherwin, Mathematical Tables: Comprising Logarithms of Numbers, […] , page 69,

     It is evident, moreover, that as the logarithms of numbers, which are tenfold, the one of the other, do not differ except in their characteristics, it is sufficient that the tables contain the fractional parts only of the logarithms.

   • 1911, F. T. Swanwick, Elementary Trigonometry, Cambridge University Press, page 60,

     As the sine and cosine are always proper fractions their logarithms are negative, i.e. have negative characteristics. When we are given an angle, it is impossible to say, from inspection of the angle, what the characteristic of the logarithm of its sine, cosine or tangent may be; so the characteristics have to be printed with the mantissae.

   • 1961, Principles and Applications of Mathematics for Communications-Electronics, [U.S.] Department of the Army, page 69,

     Similarly, the characteristic for .003 is ?3, and the characteristic for .0003 is ?4.

3. (nautical) The distinguishing features of a navigational light on a lighthouse etc by which it can be identified (colour, pattern of flashes etc.).
4. (algebra, field theory, ring theory) For a given field or ring, a natural number that is either the smallest positive number n such that n instances of the multiplicative identity (1) summed together yield the additive identity (0) or, if no such number exists, the number 0.
   • 1962 [John Wiley & Sons], Nathan Jacobson, Lie Algebras, 1979, Dover, page 289,

     In this chapter we study the problem of classifying the finite-dimensional simple Lie algebras over an arbitrary field of characteristic 0.

   • 1992, Simeon Ivanov (translator), P. M. Gudivok, E. Ya. Pogorilyak, On Modular Representations of Finite Groups over Integral Domains, Simeon Ivanov (editor), Galois Theory, Rings, Algebraic Groups and Their Applications, American Mathematical Society, page 87,

     Let R be a Noetherian factorial ring of characteristic p which is not a field.

   • 1993, S. Warner, Topological Rings, Elsevier (North-Holland), page 424,

     Traditionally, a complete, discretely valued field of characteristic zero, the maximal ideal of whose valuation ring is generated by the prime number p, has been called a p-adic field. In our terminology, the valuation ring of a p-adic field is a Cohen ring of characteristic zero whose residue field has characteristic p, and consequently a p-adic field is simply the quotient field of such a Cohen ring.

Synonyms

• (distinguishing feature of a person or thing): attribute, hallmark, idiosyncrasy, mannerism, quality, tendency, trademark, trait
• See also Thesaurus:characteristic

Coordinate terms

• (part of a logarithm): mantissa

Derived terms

• defining characteristic

Related terms

• characteristically

Translations

See also

• mantissa

Further reading

• characteristic in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• characteristic in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Interlingua

Adjective

characteristic (not comparable)

1. characteristic

Related terms

• characteristica

English

Etymology

From French essence, from Latin essentia (“the being or essence of a thing”), from an artificial formation of esse (“to be”), to translate Ancient Greek ????? (ousía, “being”), from ?? (?n), present participle of ???? (eimí, “I am, exist”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??s?ns/

Noun

essence (countable and uncountable, plural essences)

2. The inherent nature of a thing or idea.
   • 1713 September 21, Joseph Addison, The Guardian, collected in The Works of the Late Right Honorable Joseph Addison, volume IV, Birmingham: John Baskerville, published 1761, page 263:

     CHARITY is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands, ?ays an old writer. Gifts and alms are the expre??ions, not the e??ence of this virtue.
3. (philosophy) The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.
4. Constituent substance.
5. A being; especially, a purely spiritual being.
6. A significant feature of something.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

7. The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through a distillation process.

8. An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter used for flavouring.

9. Fragrance, a perfume.

Synonyms

• (inherent nature): quintessence, whatness; See also Thesaurus:essence
• (significant feature): gist, crux; See also Thesaurus:gist
• (fragrance): aroma, bouquet; See also Thesaurus:aroma

Derived terms

• in essence
• of the essence; time is of the essence

Related terms

• essential
• essentially
• essentialism
• quintessential

Translations

Further reading

• essence in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• essence in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• senesce

French

Etymology

From Old French, from Latin essentia. Sense 2 very likely from Latin ed? (“eat”), in the sense of 'what is eaten, fuel'. Many forms of the latter are indistinguishable from the former, and so the confusion with essence is very understandable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e.s??s/, /?.s??s/

Noun

essence f (plural essences)

1. (philosophy, theology) essence
2. petrol, gasoline
3. essence, essential oil

Derived terms

• poste d'essence
• station essence

Further reading

• “essence” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• censées