Catholic Dictionary
Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.
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QUIDDITY
The essence of anything, answering to the question "What is it?" In scholastic terminology it is the definition of something. (Etym. Latin quidditas, what a thing is, essence, so called because in answer to the question "Quid est res?" [What is a thing?], the essence of a thing is expected.)
See Also: ESSENCE
