semicharacteristic

noun

A partial characteristic

OriginEnglish characteristic ← Ancient Greek χᾰρᾰκτηριστῐκός (khărăktēristĭkós) ← Latin sēmi- →
Scrabble 29
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Meanings

nounsemicharacteristic (plural semicharacteristics)

plural semicharacteristics

  1. mathematicsA partial characteristic

    Defining a consistent set of local rules requires the sign structure of the ground state wavefunction to depend not just on the number of disconnected surfaces, but also upon their higher Betti numbers through the semicharacteristic.

    2015, Michael H. Freedman, Matthew B. Hastings, “Double semions in arbitrary dimension”, in arXiv

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sēmi
  3. Latinsēmi-
  4. Englishsemi-
  5. Ancient Greekχαράσσω (kharássō)
  6. Ancient Greekχαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr)
  7. Ancient Greekχαρακτηρίζω (kharaktērízō)
  8. Ancient Greekχᾰρᾰκτηριστῐκός (khărăktēristĭkós)
  9. Englishcharacteristic
  10. Englishsemicharacteristic

From semi- + characteristic.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

semicharacteristic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semicharacteristic

MLA

“semicharacteristic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semicharacteristic. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “semicharacteristic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semicharacteristic.

Source: semicharacteristic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.