Quiddity
Pronunciation : Quid"di*ty
Part of Speech : n.;
Etymology : [LL. quidditas, fr. L. quid what, neut. of quis who, akin to E. who: cf. F. quiddit?.]
Definition : 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.
pl. Quiddities.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913