distintivo

Italian

Etymology

From Medieval Latin distinctīvus. By surface analysis, distinto +‎ -ivo. Cognate with Piedmontese distintiv.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis.tinˈti.vo/
• Rhymes: -ivo
• Hyphenation: di‧stin‧tì‧vo

Adjective

distintivo (feminine distintiva, masculine plural distintivi, feminine plural distintive)

1. distinctive, distinguishing

Noun

distintivo m (plural distintivi)

1. a distinguishing mark
2. flash
3. badge, emblem

Further reading

• distintivo in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
• distintivo in Aldo Gabrielli, Grandi Dizionario Italiano (Hoepli)
• distintivo in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa
• “distintìvo” in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
• distintivo in sapere.it – De Agostini Editore
• “distintivo”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• distinctivo (obsolete)

Etymology

From distinto +‎ -ivo, or else borrowed from French distinctif.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈt͡ʃi.vu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒis.t͡ʃĩˈt͡ʃi.vu/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒiʃ.t͡ʃĩˈt͡ʃi.vu/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨʃ.tĩˈti.vu/, /diʃ.tĩˈti.vu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨʃ.tĩˈti.vu/, /diʃ.tĩˈti.vu/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /dɨʃ.tĩˈti.bu/ [dɨʃ.tĩˈti.βu], /diʃ.tĩˈti.bu/ [diʃ.tĩˈti.βu]

• Rhymes: -ivu
• Hyphenation: dis‧tin‧ti‧vo

Adjective

distintivo (feminine distintiva, masculine plural distintivos, feminine plural distintivas)

1. distinctive, distinguishing

Noun

distintivo m (plural distintivos)

1. badge (distinctive mark)

Related terms

• distinguir

Further reading

• “distintivo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “distintivo”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2026
• “distinctivo” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “distintivo”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “distintivo”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “distintivo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin distinctus

Proto-Indo-European *-wós

Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder.

Latin -īvusder.

Spanish -ivo

Spanish distintivo

From Latin distinctus + Spanish -ivo. By surface analysis, distinto +‎ -ivo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /distinˈtibo/ [d̪is.t̪ĩn̪ˈt̪i.β̞o]
• Rhymes: -ibo
• Syllabification: dis‧tin‧ti‧vo

Adjective

distintivo (feminine distintiva, masculine plural distintivos, feminine plural distintivas)

1. distinctive, distinguishable

Derived terms

• distintivamente
• distintividad

Noun

distintivo m (plural distintivos)

1. badge, emblem, logo

Related terms

• distinción
• distinguir
• distinto

Further reading

• “distintivo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025