precinctiveadj.
/prᵻˈsɪŋ(k)tɪv/, U.S. /prəˈsɪŋ(k)tɪv/ Now chiefly Zoology.
Restricted to a particular area.
ΚΠ
1756 E. Perronet Mitre i. cviii. 26 Smithies, a black, besmeared band, With goggled eyes precinctive stand, And strike the tortur'd bar.
1900 D. Sharp in Fauna Hawai. II. iii. 91 (note) I use the word precinctive..in the sense of ‘confined to the area under discussion’... ‘Precinctive forms’ means therefore forms that are confined to the area specified.
1941 Sci. Monthly 53 369/1 A species between the extremes of its distribution may range over a number of types of country in each of which it may develop precinctive characteristics.
1999 Ecology 80 2530/2 The number of marked recaptures exceeded 10 individuals for only two species of lizards, however, the widespread Cnemidophorus sexlineatus..and the precinctive Sceloporus woodi.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1756