Trait

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /tɹeɪt/

Definitions

1. A distinctive characteristic or quality that defines someone's personality or something's nature
2. A defining quality or characteristic that represents an individual’s personality or a distinguishing feature in an object’s nature
3. A specific feature or attribute that sets a person or thing apart from others

Etymology: The English noun "trait" began as a drawing term. Its Middle French ancestor "trait" meant a line or a stroke, and the Latin source, "tractus," came from the verb "trahere," "to draw or pull." So the idea of something drawn out as a line sits underneath the modern sense. A feature that marks a person out is, in this picture, a line traced across a face or a character. The word reached English by way of French, and it is a doublet of "tract," which entered English from the same Latin source by a more direct route. Both words descend from "tractus," but "trait" carries the later, French-shaped form. The two words have drifted apart in meaning: "tract" kept its senses of an area of land or a stretch of ground, while "trait" narrowed to a single identifying quality.

Synonyms: characteristic, attribute, feature, quality, property

Antonyms: flaw, deficiency, weakness, INVALID, INVALID