The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Feature \Fea"ture\ (?; 135), n. [OE. feture form, shape,
   feature, OF. faiture fashion, make, fr. L. factura a making,
   formation, fr. facere, factum, to make. See Feat, Fact,
   and cf. Facture.]
   1. The make, form, or outward appearance of a person; the
      whole turn or style of the body; esp., good appearance.
      [1913 Webster]

            What needeth it his feature to descrive? --Chaucer.
      [1913 Webster]

            Cheated of feature by dissembling nature. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The make, cast, or appearance of the human face, and
      especially of any single part of the face; a lineament.
      (pl.) The face, the countenance.
      [1913 Webster]

            It is for homely features to keep home. --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. 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.
      [1913 Webster]

            And to her service bind each living creature
            Through secret understanding of their feature.
                                                  --Spenser.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. A form; a shape. [R.]
      [1913 Webster]

            So scented the grim feature, and upturned
            His nostril wide into the murky air.  --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

feature
    n 1: a prominent attribute or aspect of something; "the map
         showed roads and other features"; "generosity is one of his
         best characteristics" [syn: feature, characteristic]
    2: the characteristic parts of a person's face: eyes and nose
       and mouth and chin; "an expression of pleasure crossed his
       features"; "his lineaments were very regular" [syn:
       feature, lineament]
    3: the principal (full-length) film in a program at a movie
       theater; "the feature tonight is `Casablanca'" [syn:
       feature, feature film]
    4: a special or prominent article in a newspaper or magazine;
       "they ran a feature on retirement planning" [syn: feature,
       feature article]
    5: (linguistics) a distinctive characteristic of a linguistic
       unit that serves to distinguish it from other units of the
       same kind [syn: feature of speech, feature]
    6: an article of merchandise that is displayed or advertised
       more than other articles
    v 1: have as a feature; "This restaurant features the most
         famous chefs in France" [syn: have, feature] [ant:
         lack, miss]
    2: wear or display in an ostentatious or proud manner; "she was
       sporting a new hat" [syn: sport, feature, boast]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

307 Moby Thesaurus words for "feature":
   3-D, Cinemascope, Cinerama, Technicolor, Western, act, adjunct,
   advertise, affection, air, angle, animated cartoon, appurtenance,
   aroma, article, article of commerce, article of merchandise,
   aspect, attribute, authoritative, badge, be, be a gas, be a hit,
   be into, be strong in, bearing, best part, bill, birthmark,
   black-and-white film, bomb, brand, brow, cachet, call attention to,
   carriage, cartoon, cast, cast of countenance, causerie, character,
   characteristic, chiller, cinema, circumstance, color, color film,
   column, commodity, complexion, component, configuration, confine,
   confined, constituent, contents, countenance, creepie, cut,
   demeanor, descant, detail, dial, differentia, differential,
   discourse, discussion, disquisition, dissertation,
   distinctive feature, documentary, documentary film, dramatize,
   draw, drawing card, drug, earmark, educational film, effect,
   eidolon, element, emphasize, essay, etude, examination, excursus,
   expert, exposition, face, facet, facial appearance, factor, fail,
   fashion, favor, featured, features, figure, film, first approach,
   fixings, flavor, flick, flicker, flop, follow, form, garb, gestalt,
   go in for, guise, gust, hallmark, headline, high point, high spot,
   highlight, homily, horror picture, horse opera, hype, idiocrasy,
   idiosyncrasy, image, imago, impress, impression, index,
   individualism, individuality, ingredient, integrant,
   introductory study, item, keynote, kisser, knowledgeable,
   lead item, leader, leading card, light, likeness, limit, limited,
   lineaments, lines, look, looks, loss leader, lucubration,
   main feature, major in, make a hit, makings, manner, mannerism,
   map, mark, marking, melodramatize, memoir, mien, minor in, mold,
   monograph, morceau, motion picture, motion-picture show, mount,
   movie, moving picture, mug, narrow, nature, newsreel, note, nudie,
   odor, open, open a show, outline, outstanding feature, pan,
   pandect, paper, paragraph, part, part and parcel, participate,
   particular, particularity, peculiarity, perform, phase, phasis,
   phiz, photodrama, photoplay, physiognomy, picture, picture show,
   piece, play up, point, pornographic film, port, posture,
   preliminary study, premiere, presence, present, preview, produce,
   product, prolegomenon, promote, property, publicize, puff up,
   pursue, puss, put on, quality, quirk, reference, regard,
   research paper, respect, restrict, restricted, savor, scenarize,
   screed, seal, seconds, seeming, semblance, set the stage, shape,
   short, side, silent, silent film, simulacrum, singularity, sketch,
   skin flick, slant, smack, sneak preview, spaghetti Western,
   special, special article, specialist, specialistic, speciality,
   specialize, specialize in, specialized, specialty, spotlight,
   stage, stamp, stance, standard article, staple, staple item, star,
   stress, study, style, succeed, survey, taint, talkie,
   talking picture, tang, taste, technical, term paper, theatricalize,
   theme, thesis, thriller, token, total effect, tract, tractate,
   trailer, trait, traits, treatise, treatment, trick, try out, turn,
   twist, underground film, underscore, vendible, view, viewpoint,
   virtue, visage, ware, wise



The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

feature
 n.

    1. [common] A good property or behavior (as of a program). Whether it was
    intended or not is immaterial.

    2. [common] An intended property or behavior (as of a program). Whether it
    is good or not is immaterial (but if bad, it is also a misfeature).

    3. A surprising property or behavior; in particular, one that is purposely
    inconsistent because it works better that way ? such an inconsistency is
    therefore a feature and not a bug. This kind of feature is sometimes
    called a miswart; see that entry for a classic example.

    4. A property or behavior that is gratuitous or unnecessary, though perhaps
    also impressive or cute. For example, one feature of Common LISP's format
    function is the ability to print numbers in two different Roman-numeral
    formats (see bells whistles and gongs).

    5. A property or behavior that was put in to help someone else but that
    happens to be in your way.

    6. [common] A bug that has been documented. To call something a feature
    sometimes means the author of the program did not consider the particular
    case, and that the program responded in a way that was unexpected but not
    strictly incorrect. A standard joke is that a bug can be turned into a 
    feature simply by documenting it (then theoretically no one can complain
    about it because it's in the manual), or even by simply declaring it to be
    good. ?That's not a bug, that's a feature!? is a common catchphrase. See
    also feetch feetch, creeping featurism, wart, green lightning.

    The relationship among bugs, features, misfeatures, warts, and miswarts
    might be clarified by the following hypothetical exchange between two
    hackers on an airliner:

    A: ?This seat doesn't recline.?

    B: ?That's not a bug, that's a feature. There is an emergency exit door
    built around the window behind you, and the route has to be kept clear.?

    A: ?Oh. Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased the spacing
    between rows here.?

    B: ?Yes. But if they'd increased spacing in only one section it would have
    been a wart ? they would've had to make nonstandard-length ceiling panels
    to fit over the displaced seats.?

    A: ?A miswart, actually. If they increased spacing throughout they'd lose
    several rows and a chunk out of the profit margin. So unequal spacing would
    actually be the Right Thing.?

    B: ?Indeed.?

    Undocumented feature is a common, allegedly humorous euphemism for a bug.
    There's a related joke that is sometimes referred to as the ?one-question
    geek test?. You say to someone ?I saw a Volkswagen Beetle today with a
    vanity license plate that read FEATURE?. If he/she laughs, he/she is a 
    geek.


The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

feature
undocumented feature

    1. A good property or behaviour (as of a program).
   Whether it was intended or not is immaterial.

   2. An intended property or behaviour (as of a program).
   Whether it is good or not is immaterial (but if bad, it is
   also a misfeature).

   3. A surprising property or behaviour; in particular, one that
   is purposely inconsistent because it works better that way -
   such an inconsistency is therefore a feature and not a
   bug.  This kind of feature is sometimes called a miswart.

   4. A property or behaviour that is gratuitous or unnecessary,
   though perhaps also impressive or cute.  For example, one
   feature of Common LISP's "format" function is the ability to
   print numbers in two different Roman-numeral formats (see
   bells, whistles, and gongs).

   5. A property or behaviour that was put in to help someone
   else but that happens to be in your way.

   6. A bug that has been documented.  To call something a
   feature sometimes means the author of the program did not
   consider the particular case, and that the program responded
   in a way that was unexpected but not strictly incorrect.  A
   standard joke is that a bug can be turned into a feature
   simply by documenting it (then theoretically no one can
   complain about it because it's in the manual), or even by
   simply declaring it to be good.  "That's not a bug, that's a
   feature!" is a common catch-phrase.  Apparently there is a
   Volkswagen Beetle in San Francisco whose license plate reads
   "FEATURE".

   See also feetch feetch, creeping featurism, wart, green
   lightning.

   The relationship among bugs, features, misfeatures, warts and
   miswarts might be clarified by the following hypothetical
   exchange between two hackers on an airliner:

   A: "This seat doesn't recline."

   B: "That's not a bug, that's a feature.  There is an emergency
   exit door built around the window behind you, and the route
   has to be kept clear."

   A: "Oh.  Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased
   the spacing between rows here."

   B: "Yes.  But if they'd increased spacing in only one section
   it would have been a wart - they would've had to make
   nonstandard-length ceiling panels to fit over the displaced
   seats."

   A: "A miswart, actually.  If they increased spacing throughout
   they'd lose several rows and a chunk out of the profit margin.
   So unequal spacing would actually be the Right Thing."

   B: "Indeed."

   "Undocumented feature" is a common euphemism for a bug.

   7. An attribute or function of a class in Eiffel.

   [Jargon File]

   (1995-10-22)