distinctive

== English == === Etymology === From Latin distinctus, perfect passive participle of distinguere (“to push apart, to divide”), + -ive (forming adjectives signifying relation or tendency to). Cognate with French distinctif and Medieval Latin distinctivus. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/ === Adjective === distinctive (comparative more distinctive, superlative most distinctive) Distinguishing, used to or enabling the distinguishing of some thing. (rare) Discriminating, discerning, having the ability to distinguish between things. Characteristic, typical. (rare) Distinguished, being distinct in character or position. (Hebrew grammar, of accents) Used to separate clauses in place of stops. (linguistics, of sounds) Distinguishing a particular sense of word. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === distinctive (plural distinctives) A distinctive thing: a quality or property permitting distinguishing; a characteristic. (Hebrew grammar) A distinctive accent. (theology) A distinctive belief, tenet, or dogma of a denomination or sect. === References === “distinctive, adj. and n..”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1896. “distinctive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “distinctive”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. == French == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /dis.tɛ̃k.tiv/ Homophone: distinctives === Adjective === distinctive feminine singular of distinctif