French word

spécificité

Pronunciation

IPA/spesifisite/

Meaning

  • feminine noundistinctive feature

Example

La spécificité de ce quartier, ce sont ses petits cafés.

The distinctive feature of this neighborhood is its small cafes.

Illustration for spécificité (distinctive feature)

More examples

Cette spécificité rend le produit facile à reconnaître.

This distinctive character makes the product easy to recognize.

Core concept

A defining feature that marks a place, product, or person as distinct.

Common phrases

  • la spécificité de ce quartier

    the distinctive character of this neighborhood

  • manque de spécificité

    lack of distinctiveness

  • la spécificité locale

    the area's local distinctiveness

Similar words

particularité: A noticeable unusual quality or detail.
caractéristique: A quality or attribute that identifies something.
aspect: One way something appears or one of its facets.

Definition in French

Caractéristique distinctive souvent employée pour signaler une particularité d'un lieu, d'un produit ou d'une personne.

Word origin

Spécificité derives from French spécifique with the abstract noun suffix -ité, ultimately from Latin specificus, meaning distinctive or particular.

Usage tips

  • Spécificité is relatively formal, while particularité or trait often sounds more natural in casual speech.

Other meanings

  • characteristicnoun
  • uniquenessnoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word