quiddity
What something is
Quiddity is the essential nature of a thing—what makes it what it is.
In medieval philosophy, quiddity was the answer to "what is it?" that distinguished one kind of being from another.
The word survives in philosophical writing and occasionally in literary contexts to mean the defining quality or peculiar character of something: the quiddity of jazz, the quiddity of adolescence.
In plural, quiddities can mean trivial distinctions or quibbles.
Purest embodiment of something
- coreCentral essential portion
- heartCirculatory system's pump
- kernelSeed or essential core
- cruxMost important point
gist · pith · nub · marrow · root · substance · fundamental · intrinsic
Peculiar behavioral trait
- eccentricityUnconventional behavior or nature
- idiosyncrasyDistinctive personal peculiarity
- odditySomething unusual or unexpected
- singularityPoint where values explode
strangeness · unconventionality · curiosity · distinctiveness · originality · uniqueness · rarity · exceptionality
quintessence
Purest embodiment of something
crux · gist · pith · nub · marrow · root · substance · fundamental · intrinsic · elemental
quirk
Peculiar behavioral trait
- eccentricityUnconventional behavior or nature
- idiosyncrasyDistinctive personal peculiarity
- odditySomething unusual or unexpected
singularity · strangeness · unconventionality · curiosity · distinctiveness · originality · uniqueness · rarity · exceptionality · individuality
quidditysameness
State of being identical
conformity · homogeneity · uniformity · genericness · indistinctiveness
quidditysuperficiality
Absence of meaningful depth
appearance · veneer · externality · seeming · triviality