quiddity

1. (philosophy) The essence or inherent nature of a person or thing.Examples: "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."Synonyms: naturecountableuncountable

2. (law) A trifle; a nicety or quibble.countableuncountable