Definitions for: Quiddity


[n] the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other
[n] an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections



Webster (1913) Definition: Quid"di*ty, n.; pl. Quiddities. [LL. quidditas, fr.
L. quid what, neut. of quis who, akin to E. who: cf. F.
quiddit['e].]
1. The essence, nature, or distinctive peculiarity, of a
thing; that which answers the question, Quid est? or, What
is it? `` The degree of nullity and quiddity.'' --Bacon.

The quiddity or characteristic difference of poetry
as distinguished from prose. --De Quincey.

2. A trifling nicety; a cavil; a quibble.

We laugh at the quiddities of those writers now.
--Coleridge.

Synonyms: haecceity, quibble

See Also: center, core, equivocation, essence, evasion, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, nitty-gritty, nub, pith, substance, sum

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