trait

B2 Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /tɹeɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #17240

Meanings

1

noun
A particular quality or feature of someone's personality or character.

Patience is one of her best traits.
2

noun
A feature that is passed down from parents, such as eye colour or height.

Tall height is a trait that runs in his family.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a particular quality or... characteristic

2 noun · a feature that is passed... characteristic

Word family

Forms traits

Derived forms traitlike

Related forms portrait tract tractate treat treaty

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

cultural trait
a recognizable practice, belief, or feature shared within a culture

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French trait (“line, feature”), from Latin tractus (“drawing, pulling”), from Latin trahō. Doublet of tract.

trait Middle French tractus Latin traho Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas

External links

# trait

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /tɹeɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 17240

## Meanings
1. A particular quality or feature of someone's personality or character.
2. A feature that is passed down from parents, such as eye colour or height.

## Examples
- Patience is one of her best traits.
- Tall height is a trait that runs in his family.

## Derived Forms
- traitlike

## Related Forms
- portrait
- tract
- tractate
- treat
- treaty

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: trait
- Root: tractus
- Root: traho

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French trait (“line, feature”), from Latin tractus (“drawing, pulling”), from Latin trahō. Doublet of tract.

## AI Etymology
Trait is borrowed from Middle French trait (“line, feature”), from Latin tractus (“drawing, pulling”), from Latin trahō. Doublet of tract. The historical line also includes Middle French trait, Latin tractus, Latin traho. In present-day use, it can mean a particular quality or feature of someone's personality or character, or a feature that is passed down from parents, such as eye colour or height. Derived formations include traitlike.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas

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