secondary quality
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of secondary quality
First recorded in 1690–1700
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.
Physical courage is, after all, but a secondary quality, and needs a sublime motive to make it thoroughly sublime.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 02, No. 13, November, 1858 by Various
Because we know not the real constitutions of substances, on which each secondary quality particularly depends.
From An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume 2 MDCXC, Based on the 2nd Edition, Books 3 and 4 by Locke, John
Color is a case of the former, a "secondary quality"; and extension a case of the latter, a "primary quality."
From The Approach to Philosophy by Perry, Ralph Barton
The goods displayed in the windows are of a secondary quality, at best; and the people who throng the pavements are people who want second-rate articles.
From The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 1, August, 1851 by Various
Reason, which gets so much vulgar glorification, is, after all, a secondary quality.
From Confessions and Criticisms by Hawthorne, Julian
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.
