distinctive feature

noun

, Linguistics.

1. a feature of the sound system of a language that serves as the crucial distinguishing mark between two phonemes, as the distinctive feature of voicing, which distinguishes b from p in English, or nasality, which distinguishes m from b and p.
2. any of a set of phonetic properties, as coronal, nasal, or strident, serving as a basic unit of phonological analysis by which the sounds that are significant in a language can be characterized and distinguished from one another.
3. a component or phonetic feature characterizing a phoneme.

Word History and Origins

Origin of distinctive feature¹

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Each is surrounded by a gelatinous capsule, which is its distinctive feature (Fig. 9).

From Project Gutenberg

Club life is, as might be supposed, a distinctive feature, and the Jockey Club (entrance 300) is a triumph of luxury.

From Project Gutenberg

The distinctive feature in securing permanency seems to have been the intent to secure it.

From Project Gutenberg

The abolition of existing property relations is not at all a distinctive feature of Communism.

From Project Gutenberg

Nothing was marked, the boots were odd ones and of a prehistoric age; there was no distinctive feature about any of the things.

From Project Gutenberg