trait

[treyt; British also trey]
noun
1.
a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one's personal nature: bad traits of character.
2.
a pen or pencil stroke.
3.
a stroke, touch, or strain, as of some quality: a trait of pathos; a trait of ready wit.

Origin:
1470–80; < Middle French: literally, something drawn < Latin tractus. See tract1


1. peculiarity, mark, attribute, property.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
trait (treɪt, treɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a characteristic feature or quality distinguishing a particular person or thing
2.  rare a touch or stroke
 
[C16: from French, from Old French: a pulling, from Latin tractus, from trahere to drag]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Traits is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

trait
c.1477, "shot, missiles," later "a stroke, short line" (1589), from M.Fr. trait, from L. tractus "draft, drawing, drawing out," later "line drawn, feature," from pp. stem of trahere "to pull, draw" (see tract (1)). Sense of "particular feature, distinguishing quality" is first
recorded 1752, from meaning "line, streak, feature" (1561), which is common to Eng., Fr. and L.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

trait (trāt)
n.
A characteristic, especially one that distinguishes an individual from others.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
trait   (trāt)  Pronunciation Key 
A genetically determined characteristic or condition. Traits may be physical, such as hair color or leaf shape, or they may be behavioral, such as nesting in birds and burrowing in rodents. Traits typically result from the combined action of several genes, though some traits are expressed by a single gene.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
There are several hypotheses that account for the evolution of human traits.
Only dogs registered in the national stud book have a record of their parentage
  and genetic traits.
Adults whose problems persist for decades manifest different traits from those
  who get clean.
The result: an explosion of research on happiness, optimism, positive emotions
  and healthy character traits.
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