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quiddity

 - 5 dictionary results

quid⋅di⋅ty

  [kwid-i-tee]
Use quiddity in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ties.
1. the quality that makes a thing what it is; the essential nature of a thing.
2. a trifling nicety of subtle distinction, as in argument.
Origin:
1530–40; < ML quidditās, equiv. to L quid what + -itās -ity
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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quid·di·ty   (kwĭd'ĭ-tē)   
n.   pl. quid·di·ties

  1. The real nature of a thing; the essence.

  2. A hairsplitting distinction; a quibble.


[Medieval Latin quidditās, from Latin quid, what; see kwo- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Main Entry:  quiddity1
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  the real nature or essence of something which makes it different from others
Etymology:  Latin quid 'something' + -ity
Main Entry:  quiddity2
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  a subtlety or quibbling point; triviality
Etymology:  Latin quid 'something' + -ity
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Word Origin & History

quiddity 
1539, "captious nicety in argument" from M.L. quidditas, lit. "whatness," from L. quid "what," neut. of quis (see who). Sense developed from scholastic disputes over the nature of things. Original meaning "real essence or nature of a thing" is attested in Eng. from 1569.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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