quiddity

Definition

The essence or inherent nature of a person or thing.

Etymology

From Middle English quidite, from Old French quidité, and its source, Late Latin quidditas, from Latin quid (“what”) + -itas (“-ness”).

Example Sentences

• "A tub of butter, contemplated by him, amounts to a Platonic idea. He understands a leg of mutton in its quiddity. He stands wondering, amid the commonplace materials of life, like primæval man, with the sun and stars about him."
• "My vision reeked with truth. It had the tone, The quiddity and quaintness of its own Reality."
• "He represented my quiddity I suppose – the part which, thanks to you, has converted a black pessimism about life into a belief in cosmic absurdity."