characteristics

noun

1. 1

   A distinguishing feature of a person or thing.

2. 2

   The integer part of a logarithm.

3. 3

   The distinguishing features of a navigational light on a lighthouse etc by which it can be identified (colour, pattern of flashes etc.).

4. 4

   For a given field or ring, a natural number that is either the smallest positive number n such that n instances of the multiplicative identity (1) summed together yield the additive identity (0) or, if no such number exists, the number 0.

   “The characteristic of a field, if non-zero, must be a prime number.”