quiddity
/ˈkwɪdɪti
/noun (plural quiddities)
1 [mass noun] chiefly Philosophy The inherent nature or essence of someone or something.And so we need only consider these two works in order to discover his particular view of being, essence and quiddity that specifies his philosophical thinking....
- For there is no knowledge of things insofar as they are external in effect, but insofar as their nature and quiddity is grasped by the mind.
- Immanence should not be equated with essence, if by essence we mean a substratum of materiality inherent in things; a quality or quiddity to which all things can be reduced.
2A distinctive feature; a peculiarity: his quirks and quiddities...
- He occasionally quarrelled with his fellow justices over what he described as the ‘quirks and quiddities’ of the law.
- Imitating the great singers with full respect to their quiddities and idiosyncrasies isn't easy.
- She has her eye on a like void when she describes Shakespeare's fascination with ‘human variability,’ how he could ‘create all kinds of human grotesques out of quiddities of speech and mannerism.’
Origin
Late Middle English: from medieval Latin quidditas, from Latin quid 'what'.