characteristic vs feature

characteristic

noun
  • A distinguishing feature of a person or thing. 

  • 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 integer part of a logarithm. 

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

adj
  • Being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing. 

feature

noun
  • An important or main item. 

  • An individual measurable property or characteristic of a phenomenon being observed; the input of a model. 

  • A beneficial capability of a piece of software. 

  • Any of the physical constituents of the face (eyes, nose, etc.). 

  • The act of being featured in a piece of music. 

  • Characteristic forms or shapes of parts. For example, a hole, boss, slot, cut, chamfer, or fillet. 

  • A long, prominent article or item in the media, or the department that creates them; frequently used technically to distinguish content from news. 

  • Something discerned from physical evidence that helps define, identify, characterize, and interpret an archeological site. 

  • The elements into which linguistic units can be broken down. 

  • The cast or structure of anything, or of any part of a thing, as of a landscape, a picture, a treaty, or an essay; any marked peculiarity or characteristic. 

verb
  • To appear, to make an appearance. 

  • To ascribe the greatest importance to something within a certain context. 

  • To star, to contain. 

How often have the words characteristic and feature occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )