characterystycznymi

Charakterystycznymi is the instrumental plural form of the Polish adjective charakterystyczny, meaning characteristic or distinctive. It is used to describe features or traits that distinguish a subject, and it commonly appears in phrases like cechami charakterystycznymi, which translates to “characteristic features.” The construction emphasizes attributes that are typical for the described item, process, or group.

Etymology and formation: the adjective charakterystyczny is formed from the noun charakter (character) with the suffix -ystyczny, a productive Polish pattern that yields adjectives meaning “pertaining to or characteristic of.” The instrumental plural ending -ymi in charakterystycznymi corresponds to masculine personal forms, and it is used when the described features belong to a plural subject. This pattern is seen across related adjectives such as statystycznymi (statistical) or praktycznymi (practical) in similar grammatical contexts.

Usage notes: charakterystycznymi is most often used in formal or technical prose, including scientific descriptions, diagnostics, or ethnographic and historical accounts, to identify features that help differentiate one subject from another. It frequently co-occurs with cechami (features) or właściwościami (properties), e.g., cechami charakterystycznymi dla danego gatunku, właściwościami charakterystycznymi tej technologii.

Example: Cechami charakterystycznymi dla tego gatunku są duże liście i charakterystyczne przebarwienia na brzegach liści. In this sentence, charakterystycznymi modifies the noun phrase describing the features, reinforcing the idea of distinctive traits.

See also: characteristic, characteristic features, adjectival suffixes in Polish, -ystyczny adjectives.