Quid″di‐ty (?), n.; pl.Quiddities (#). [LL. quidditas, fr. L. quid what, neut. of quis who, akin to E. who: cf. F. quiddité.] 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.