Quiddity /(?)/

Quid·di·ty

Quiddity

n.

pl. Quiddities

  1. The essence, nature, or distinctive peculiarity, of a thing; that which answers the question, Quid est? or, What is it?
    The quiddity or characteristic difference of poetry as distinguished from prose.
  2. A trifling nicety; a cavil; a quibble.
    We laugh at the quiddities of those writers now.