Characteristic

Definition

A characteristic is a distinguishing feature of an object.

Subordinate concepts

A

Subordinate concepts of the concept characteristics are:

- physical characteristics (e.g. mechanical, electrical, chemical or biological characteristics);

- sensory characteristics (e.g. related to smell, touch, taste, sight, hearing);

- behavioural characteristics (e.g. courtesy, honesty, veracity);

- temporal characteristics (e.g. punctuality, reliability, availability, continuity);

- ergonomic characteristics (e.g. physiological characteristic, or related to human safety);

- functional characteristics (e.g. maximum speed of an car).

B

Subordinate concepts of the concept characteristics are:

- qualitative characteristics (e.g., clarity)

- quantitative characteristics (e.g., length)

C

Subordinate concepts of the concept characteristics are:

- inherent characteristics (e.g., accuracy)

- assigned characteristic (e.g., price)

See also

Property

Notes

A qualitative characteristic if often expressed an independentised adjective. For example the adjective is 'complete' and the characteristic is 'completeness'.

Relations

A characteristic is always associated with an object. A combination of a characteristic and an object is a focus area. For example the accuracy (characteristic) of data (object).

A characteristics can have a value. For example the colour (characteristic) of the car is red (value).