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quiddity

noun
/ˈkwɪdɪti/UK

Etymology

From Middle English quidite, from Old French quidité, and its source, Late Latin quidditas, from Latin quid (“what”) + -itas (“-ness”).

  1. derived from quidité
  2. inherited from quidite

Definitions

  1. The essence or inherent nature of a person or thing.

    • A tub of butter, contemplated by him, amounts to a Platonic idea. He understands a leg of mutton in its quiddity. He stands wondering, amid the commonplace materials of life, like primæval man, with the sun and stars about him.
    • My vision reeked with truth. It had the tone, The quiddity and quaintness of its own Reality.
    • He represented my quiddity I suppose – the part which, thanks to you, has converted a black pessimism about life into a belief in cosmic absurdity.

  2. A trifle

    A trifle; a nicety or quibble.

  3. An eccentricity

    An eccentricity; an odd feature.

The neighborhood

Derived

quidditative, quidditism

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for quiddity. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA