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quan·ti·ty
I. \ˈkwän(t)əd.ē, -ətē, -i sometimes ˈkwȯn-\ noun
(-es)
Etymology: Middle English quantite, from Old French quantité, from Latin quantitat-, quantitas, from quantus how much, how large + -itat-, -itas -ity; akin to Latin quam than, how, quando when, qui who — more at who
1.
a. : an indefinite amount or number
< a quantity of interesting information — Roy Lewis & Angus Maude >
< a quantity of pleasure — I.V.Morris >
< an impressive quantity of lawbooks — David Williamson >
b. : a determinate or estimated amount
< the quantity of flour called for in the recipe >
< measuring quantities of heat — K.K.Darrow >
c. : total amount or number
< the quantity of shoes produced by the company >
< the quantity of tone — Warwick Braithwaite >
< the quantity of her devotion — Mark Van Doren >
d.
(1) : a great or very considerable amount or number : lot, bulk
< a quantity of bright shawl … about her head — Charles Dickens >
< bought a quantity of plants — Rachel Henning >
< merchandise sold in quantity >
(2) quantities plural : great amounts or numbers : scads
< quantity of money >
< quantity of tan-backed girls — Edmund Wilson >
e. obsolete : a small amount : mite
< retaining but a quantity of life — Shakespeare >
f. obsolete : relative amount : proportion
< women's fear and love holds quantity — Shakespeare >
2. archaic : a definite surface or extent in space
< grant of a sufficient quantity of … land — Edmund Burke >
3.
a. : the character of something that makes it possible to measure or number it or to determine that it is more or less than something else
< a matter of quantity of production rather than quality >
b. : something that may be operated upon according to fixed mutually consistent mathematical laws — see magnitude 5
4.
a. : duration and intensity of sounds as distinct from their individual quality or phonemic character; specifically : the relative length or brevity of sounds usually indicated (as for Greek and Latin prosody) by a macron for the long, a breve for the short, and a combination of macron and breve for the common that may be either long or short
b. archaic : the relative length or duration of a musical tone
c. : the relative duration or time length of a speech sound or sound group
d. : the character of an estate as determined by its time of continuance or degree of interest (as in fee, for life, or for years)
5.
a. : the extent in which a term in a given logical proposition is to be taken; especially : such extent as indicated by all, some, or no
b. : the character of a logical proposition as universal, particular, or singular
c. : the extension, intension, or information of a logical term
Synonyms: see sum
II. adjective
: of, relating to, or involving quantity
< quantity basis >
< quantity production > |