Discrete vs Specific - What's the difference?
discrete | specific |
Separate; distinct; individual; non-continuous.
That can be perceived individually and not as connected to, or part of something else.
(electrical engineering) Having separate electronic components, such as individual resistors and inductors — the opposite of integrated circuitry.
(audio engineering) Having separate and independent channels of audio, as opposed to multiplexed stereo or quadraphonic, or other multi-channel sound.
(topology) Having each singleton subset open: said of a topological space or a topology.
disjunctive; containing a disjunctive or discretive clause
explicit or definite
(sciences) Pertaining to a species.
*2008 , (Richard Dawkins), The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing , Oxford 2009, p. 3:
*:Science and literature, then, are the two achievements of Homo sapiens that most convincingly justify the specific name.
(taxonomy) pertaining to a taxon at the rank of species
special, distinctive or unique
intended for, or applying to a particular thing
being a remedy for a particular disease
* Coleridge
(immunology) limited to a particular antibody or antigen
(physics) of a value divided by mass (e.g. specific orbital energy)
(physics) similarly referring to a value divided by any measure which acts to standardize it (e.g. thrust specific fuel consumption, referring to fuel consumption divided by thrust)
(physics) a measure compared with a standard reference value by division, to produce a ratio without unit or dimension (e.g. specific refractive index is a pure number, and is relative to that of air)
A distinguishing attribute or quality.
Something particularly adapted for a particular use, as a remedy for a particular disorder
Specification
(in the plural) The details; particulars.
As adjectives the difference between discrete and specific
is that discrete is separate; distinct; individual; non-continuous while specific is explicit or definite.As a noun specific is
a distinguishing attribute or quality.discrete
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- "I resign my life, but not my honour" is a discrete proposition.
Usage notes
* Often confused with discreet.Derived terms
* discrete variable * discretenessAntonyms
* continuous * (electrical engineering) integrated * (audio engineering) multiplexedAnagrams
* ----specific
English
Alternative forms
* specifick (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)- Quinine is a specific medicine in cases of malaria.
- In fact, all medicines will be found specific in the perfection of the science.