sva-lakṣaṇa (Sanskrit, own mark). The specific attribute or characteristic of a thing. The term is used especially in Buddhist epistemology (pramāṇa) to denote the true aspect of any object as it presents itself in bare experience prior to the superimposition of concepts that give rise to the manifestation of its so-called ‘universal attributes’ (sāmānya-lakṣaṇa). According to the Abhidharma, only objects with specific attributes are capable of causal efficacy (artha-kriyā).

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)

Specific characteristic (unique to a dharma). This is divisible into dravya-svalakṣaṇa and āyatana-svalakṣaṇa.

Sarvastivada Abhidharma, Sanskrit-English Glossary, by Bhikkhu KL Dhammajoti