quiddity
Americannoun
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Also called whatness. the quality that makes a thing what it is; the essential nature of a thing.
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a trifling nicety of subtle distinction, as in argument.
noun
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philosophy the essential nature of something Compare haecceity
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a petty or trifling distinction; quibble
Etymology
Origin of quiddity
First recorded in 1350–1400; from Medieval Latin quidditās, equivalent to Latin quid “what” + -itās noun suffix; see -ity
Explanation
When a politician avoids answering a question while pretending to answer it, she often does it using quiddity, or by bringing up irrelevant and distracting points. Quiddity is a usefully sneaky tool if you want to evade an argument or question, and it's often used by people like lawyers in court and teenagers angling for later curfews. The noun quiddity has a philosophical meaning too, "the essential nature of something," or the unique thing that makes it what it is. The Medieval Latin root, quidditas, translates literally as "whatness."
Vocabulary lists containing quiddity
Two-Faced Words: Contronyms
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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Henry IV, Part 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ample quotations from Hardwick allow her restless quiddity to come through.
From New York Times • Nov. 3, 2021
And that may have sounded like a compliment to a playful media class, but quiddity is identity.
From The Guardian • Mar. 3, 2020
Sapped of quiddity, she has become “an all-American girl.”
From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2016
Beautifying asphalt would seem to be no cinch, but the naked quiddity of the stuff, after a third or fourth look, turns cherishable.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 21, 2016
It was not for want of an exemplar, for although Fra Palamone sweated as he lied, it would be impossible to relate the quantity, the quality or quiddity of his lies.
From The Fool Errant Being the Memoirs of Francis-Anthony Strelley, Esq., Citizen of Lucca by Hewlett, Maurice Henry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
