different between trait vs capacity

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French trait (“line, feature”), from Latin tractus (“drawing, pulling”). Doublet of tract.

Pronunciation

• enPR: tr?t, IPA^(key): /t?e?t/
• (traditional British pronunciation, now virtually obsolete) enPR: tr?, IPA^(key): /t?e?/
• Rhymes: -e?t, -e?
• Homophones: tray, trey (one pronunciation)

Noun

trait (plural traits)

1. (biology, psychology) An identifying characteristic, habit or trend.

   Synonym: characteristic

   • 2003, Robert S. Siegler, Judy S. DeLoache, Nancy Eisenberg, How Children Develop, Macmillan (?ISBN), page 89:

     Turning to our second trait, if you have straight hair, then both of your parents must carry an allele for this trait.

2. (object-oriented programming) An uninstantiable collection of methods that provides functionality to a class by using the class’s own interface.

   Coordinate terms: mixin, interface, class

Derived terms

• character trait

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• trait at OneLook Dictionary Search
• trait on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• phenotypic trait on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• trait (computer programming) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Attri, Ratti, ittar, tiatr

French

Etymology

From Old French trait, from Latin tractus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t??/

Noun

trait m (plural traits)

1. line
2. trait
3. color of a mineral
4. (dated) the action of hauling or pulling (by an animal of burden)
5. (dated) straps or cords placed on an animal of burden and attached to the vehicle which the animal pulls
6. (obsolete) an action reflecting a favorable or adverse intention by one person toward another
7. a remarkable or influential historical event
8. a particular passage in a speech that is well-written; an excellent or appealing characteristic of a speech
9. a vibrant, brilliant, or innovative idea
10. (religion) verses sung in a Mass between the gradual and the gospel reading
11. connection or link between one thing and another
12. (geology) color of the dust produced by a mineral
13. (chess, checkers) the privilege of taking the first turn/move
14. (oriented-object programming) trait

Derived terms

• avoir trait à
• cheval de trait
• forcer le trait
• grossir le trait
• tirer un trait
• trait d'esprit
• trait d'union
• trait pour trait

Related terms

• traire
• traiter
• traité

Verb

trait

1. third-person singular present indicative of traire
2. third-person singular past historic of traire
3. past participle of traire

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• tarit, tarît, tirât, titra, triât

English

Etymology

From Middle English capacite, from Old French capacite, from Latin cap?cit?s, from capax (“able to hold much”), from capi? (“to hold, to contain, to take, to understand”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??pæs?ti/

Noun

capacity (countable and uncountable, plural capacities)

1. The ability to hold, receive or absorb
2. A measure of such ability; volume
3. The maximum amount that can be held

   It was hauling a capacity load.

   The orchestra played to a capacity crowd.

4. Capability; the ability to perform some task
5. The maximum that can be produced.
6. Mental ability; the power to learn
7. A faculty; the potential for growth and development
8. A role; the position in which one functions
9. Legal authority (to make an arrest for example)
10. Electrical capacitance.
11. (operations) The maximum that can be produced on a machine or in a facility or group.

    Its capacity rating was 150 tons per hour, but its actual maximum capacity was 200 tons per hour.

Synonyms

• throughput
• See also Thesaurus:skill

Derived terms

• capac
• capacitance
• capacitate
• capacitive
• capacitation
• capacitor

Translations

References

• capacity at OneLook Dictionary Search

Adjective

capacity

1. Filling the allotted space.

   There will be a capacity crowd at Busch stadium for the sixth game.

   • 2012, August 1. Owen Gibson in Guardian Unlimited, London 2012: rowers Glover and Stanning win Team GB's first gold medal

     At an overcast Eton Dorney, roared on by a capacity crowd including Prince Harry and Prince William, the volume rose as they entered the final stages.

Related terms

• capacious

Further reading

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