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Purpose vs Feature - What's the difference?

purpose | feature |

In obsolete terms the difference between purpose and feature

is that purpose is instance; example while feature is one's structure or make-up; form, shape, bodily proportions.

As nouns the difference between purpose and feature

is that purpose is an object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal while feature is one's structure or make-up; form, shape, bodily proportions.

As verbs the difference between purpose and feature

is that purpose is have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan while feature is to ascribe the greatest importance to something within a certain context.

purpose

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author= Ed Pilkington
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told , passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
  • A result that is desired; an intention.
  • The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
  • * 2013 , Phil McNulty, "[http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23830980]", BBC Sport , 1 September 2013:
  • United began with more purpose in the early phase of the second half and Liverpool were grateful for Glen Johnson's crucial block from Young's goalbound shot.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Sarah Glaz
  • , title= Ode to Prime Numbers , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers. Others play with primes’ cultural associations. Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.}}
  • The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
  • (Spenser)
  • The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.
  • The purpose of turning off the lights overnight is to save energy.
  • (obsolete) Instance; example.
  • (rfquotek, L'Estrange)
    Synonyms
    * (target ): aim, goal, object, target * (intention ): aim, plan, intention * (determination ): determination, intention, resolution * (subject of discourse ): matter, subject, topic * (reason for doing something ): reason * See also
    Derived terms
    (terms derived from purpose) * all-purpose * common purpose * cross-purpose * fit for purpose * for all intents and purposes * game with a purpose * general-purpose * infinitive of purpose * multi-purpose * metapurpose * purpose-built * purposeful * purposeless * purpose-like * purpose loan * purposely * purpose statement * on purpose

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl)

    Verb

    (purpos)
  • Have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
  • * Macaulay
  • I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time which is within the memory of men still living.
  • (passive ) Designed for some purpose.
  • (obsolete) To have a purpose or intention; to discourse.
  • (Spenser)
    Derived terms
    * purposed * purposer * purposive * on purpose
    Synonyms
    * (have set as one's purpose ): aim, intend, mean, plan, set out * (designed for some purpose ): intended

    References

    * * *

    Statistics

    *

    feature

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (label) One's structure or make-up; form, shape, bodily proportions.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , IV.ii:
  • all the powres of nature, / Which she by art could vse vnto her will, / And to her seruice bind each liuing creature; / Through secret vnderstanding of their feature .
  • An important or main item.
  • (label) A long, prominent, article or item in the media, or the department that creates them; frequently used technically to distinguish content from news.
  • Any of the physical constituents of the face (eyes, nose, etc.).
  • (label) A beneficial capability of a piece of software.
  • *
  • 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; as, one of the features of the landscape.
  • *
  • (label) Something discerned from physical evidence that helps define, identify, characterize, and interpret an archeological site.
  • A feature' of many Central Texas prehistoric archeological sites is a low spreading pile of stones called a rock midden. Other ' features at these sites may include small hearths.
  • (label) Characteristic forms or shapes of a part. For example, a hole, boss, slot, cut, chamfer, or fillet.
  • Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * featural * feature article

    Verb

    (featur)
  • To ascribe the greatest importance to something within a certain context.
  • To star, to contain.
  • to appear; to make an appearance.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2009 , date=November 27 , author= , title=Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child has 'best guitar riff' , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love, Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water and Layla by Derek and the Dominos also featured in the top five. }}