characteristic
in a field or a ring, the smallest positive integer, if any, such that the sum of n ones equals 0; zero otherwise
en-GB/ˌkæɹɪktəˈɹɪstɪk/
en-US/ˌkæɹɪktəˈɹɪstɪk/
in a field or a ring, the smallest positive integer, if any, such that the sum of n ones equals 0; zero otherwise