haecceity
/hɛkˈsiː.ə.tiː/ noun
Forms haecceities hæcceity ecceity
- noun (philosophy) The essence of a particular thing that gives it its unique particularity; those qualities that make an individual this specific individual and not some other.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Medieval Latin haecceitas (“thisness”) coined by Duns Scotus (from haec (“this, these”)) + -ity.
Webster’s 1913
- Literally, this-ness. A scholastic term to express individuality or singleness; as, this book.
Etymology [L. hæcce this.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “haecceity”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details