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feature

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fea⋅ture

  [fee-cher] noun, verb, -tured, -tur⋅ing.
Use feature in a Sentence
–noun
1. a prominent or conspicuous part or characteristic: Tall buildings were a new feature on the skyline.
2. something offered as a special attraction: This model has several added features.
3. Also called feature film. the main motion picture in a movie program: What time is the feature?
4. any part of the face, as the nose, chin, or eyes: prominent features.
5. features, the face; countenance: to compose one's features for the photographers.
6. the form or cast of the face: delicate of feature.
7. a column, cartoon, etc., appearing regularly in a newspaper or magazine.
8. feature story.
9. Archaic. make, form, or shape.
–verb (used with object)
10. to be a feature or distinctive mark of: It was industrial expansion that featured the last century.
11. to make a feature of; give prominence to: to feature a story or picture in a newspaper.
12. to delineate the main characteristics of; depict; outline.
13. Informal. to conceive of; imagine; fancy: He couldn't quite feature himself as a bank president.
14. Older Use. to resemble in features; favor.
–verb (used without object)
15. to play a major part.
Origin:
1350–1400; 1905–10 for def. 3; ME feture < AF, MF faiture < L factūra a making. See fact, -ure

Synonyms:
1. Feature, characteristic, peculiarity refer to a distinctive trait of an individual or of a class. Feature suggests an outstanding or marked property that attracts attention: Complete harmony was a feature of the convention. Characteristic means a distinguishing mark or quality (or one of such) always associated in one's mind with a particular person or thing: Defiance is one of his characteristics. Peculiarity means that distinct or unusual characteristic that marks off an individual in the class to which he, she, or it belongs: A blue-black tongue is a peculiarity of the chow chow.
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feature story

 
–noun
1. a newspaper or magazine article or report of a person, event, an aspect of a major event, or the like, often having a personal slant and written in an individual style. Compare follow-up (def. 3b), hard news, news story.
2. the main or most prominent story in a magazine.
Also called feature.

Origin:
1910–15
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To feature
fea·ture   (fē'chər)   
n.  

    1. Any of the distinct parts of the face, as the eyes, nose, or mouth.

    2. The overall appearance of the face or its parts. Often used in the plural.

    3. A property of linguistic units or forms: Nasality is a phonological feature.

    4. In generative linguistics, any of various abstract entities that combine to specify underlying phonological, morphological, semantic, and syntactic properties of linguistic forms and that act as the targets of linguistic rules and operations.

    5. The main film presentation at a theater.

    6. A full-length film.

    7. Outward appearance; form or shape.

    8. Physical beauty.

  2. A prominent or distinctive aspect, quality, or characteristic: a feature of one's personality; a feature of the landscape.

  3. Linguistics

    1. A property of linguistic units or forms: Nasality is a phonological feature.

    2. In generative linguistics, any of various abstract entities that combine to specify underlying phonological, morphological, semantic, and syntactic properties of linguistic forms and that act as the targets of linguistic rules and operations.

    3. The main film presentation at a theater.

    4. A full-length film.

    5. Outward appearance; form or shape.

    6. Physical beauty.

    1. The main film presentation at a theater.

    2. A full-length film.

    3. Outward appearance; form or shape.

    4. Physical beauty.

  5. A special attraction at an entertainment.

  6. A prominent or special article, story, or department in a newspaper or periodical.

  7. An item advertised or offered as particularly attractive or as an inducement: a washing machine with many features.

  8. Archaic

    1. Outward appearance; form or shape.

    2. Physical beauty.

tr.v.   fea·tured, fea·tur·ing, fea·tures

  1. To give special attention to; display, publicize, or make prominent.

  2. To have or include as a prominent part or characteristic: The play featured two well-known actors.

  3. To depict or outline the features of.

  4. Informal To picture mentally; imagine: Can you feature her in that hat?


[Middle English feture, from Old French faiture, from Latin factūra, a working or making, from factus, past participle of facere, to make, do; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

feature  (n.)
c.1325, from Anglo-Fr. feture, from O.Fr. faiture "fashion, shape, form," from L. facura "a formation," from facere "make, do, perform" (see factitious). Sense of "facial characteristic" is c.1350; that of "any distinctive part" first recorded 1692. The v. sense of "make special display or attraction of" is 1888.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: fea·ture
Pronunciation: 'fE-ch&r
Function: noun
1 : the structure, form, or appearance especially of a person
2 a : the makeup or appearance of the face or its parts b : a part of the face
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Computing Dictionary

feature jargon
1. A good property or behaviour (as of a program). Whether it was intended or not is immaterial.
2. An intended property or behaviour (as of a program). Whether it is good or not is immaterial (but if bad, it is also a misfeature).
3. A surprising property or behaviour; in particular, one that is purposely inconsistent because it works better that way - such an inconsistency is therefore a feature and not a bug. This kind of feature is sometimes called a miswart.
4. A property or behaviour that is gratuitous or unnecessary, though perhaps also impressive or cute. For example, one feature of Common LISP's "format" function is the ability to print numbers in two different Roman-numeral formats (see bells, whistles, and gongs).
5. A property or behaviour that was put in to help someone else but that happens to be in your way.
6. A bug that has been documented. To call something a feature sometimes means the author of the program did not consider the particular case, and that the program responded in a way that was unexpected but not strictly incorrect. A standard joke is that a bug can be turned into a feature simply by documenting it (then theoretically no one can complain about it because it's in the manual), or even by simply declaring it to be good. "That's not a bug, that's a feature!" is a common catch-phrase. Apparently there is a Volkswagen Beetle in San Francisco whose license plate reads "FEATURE".
See also feetch feetch, creeping featurism, wart, green lightning.
The relationship among bugs, features, misfeatures, warts and miswarts might be clarified by the following hypothetical exchange between two hackers on an airliner:
A: "This seat doesn't recline."
B: "That's not a bug, that's a feature. There is an emergency exit door built around the window behind you, and the route has to be kept clear."
A: "Oh. Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased the spacing between rows here."
B: "Yes. But if they'd increased spacing in only one section it would have been a wart - they would've had to make nonstandard-length ceiling panels to fit over the displaced seats."
A: "A miswart, actually. If they increased spacing throughout they'd lose several rows and a chunk out of the profit margin. So unequal spacing would actually be the Right Thing."
B: "Indeed."
"Undocumented feature" is a common euphemism for a bug.
7. An attribute or function of a class in Eiffel.
[The Jargon File]
(1995-10-22)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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