Quiddity
Quiddity , noun
[Late Latin quidditas, from Latin quid what, neut. of quis who, akin to English who: compare French 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.
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.