whatnessn.
/ˈhwɒtnɪs/ a. That which makes a thing what it is; essential nature, essence: = quiddity n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun]
pitheOE
i-cundeeOE
roota1325
substancec1330
juicec1380
marrowa1382
formc1385
acta1398
quidditya1398
substantial forma1398
inward1398
savourc1400
inwardc1450
allaya1456
essencya1475
being1521
bottom1531
spirit?1534
summary1548
ecceity1549
core1556
flower1568
formality1570
sum and substance1572
alloy1594
soul1598
inwardness1605
quid1606
fibre1607
selfness1611
whatness1611
essentialityc1616
propera1626
the whole shot1628
substantiala1631
esse1642
entity1643
virtuality1646
ingeny1647
quoddity1647
intimacy1648
ens1649
inbeing1661
essence1667
interiority1701
intrinsic1716
stamen1758
character1761
quidditas1782
hyparxis1792
rasa1800
bone1829
what1861
isness1865
inscape1868
as-suchness1909
Wesen1959
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Quidità, the whatnesse of any thing.
1627 W. Sclater Briefe Expos. 2 Thess. (1629) 39 The kinde or quality, or if you'l so terme it, whatnesse of it.
1656 tr. T. White Peripateticall Inst. 198 The Understandablenesse of a thing, or the quiddity, the Whatnesse.
1870 J. Morley Stud. Lit. (1891) 266 Pressing for definition, you never get much further than that each given quiddity means a certain Whatness.
1889 St. G. Mivart Truth 212 We must..have the conception of the kind of thing the object is—‘what’ it is, or the idea of its ‘whatness’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > an explanation, definition > [noun]
defining1382
definitiona1398
description1574
definement1604
whatness1674
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 80 The definition or whatness of a thing ought to be of a thing as a thing.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
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n.1611