n.
Pronunciation: ' kwä-l ə -t ē
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
Etymology: Middle English qualite, from Anglo-French qualité, from Latin qualitat-, qualitas, from qualis of what kind; akin to Latin qui who ― more at WHO
Date: 14th century
1 a : peculiar and essential character : NATURE <her ethereal quality ― Gay Talese> b : an inherent feature : PROPERTY <had a quality of stridence, dissonance ― Roald Dahl> c : CAPACITY , ROLE <in the quality of reader and companion ― Joseph Conrad>
2 a : degree of excellence : GRADE <the quality of competing air service ― Current Biog. > b : superiority in kind <merchandise of quality >
3 a : social status : RANK b : ARISTOCRACY
4 a : a distinguishing attribute : CHARACTERISTIC <possesses many fine qualities > b archaic : an acquired skill : ACCOMPLISHMENT
5 : the character in a logical proposition of being affirmative or negative
6 : vividness of hue
7 a : TIMBRE b : the identifying character of a vowel sound determined chiefly by the resonance of the vocal chambers in uttering it
8 : the attribute of an elementary sensation that makes it fundamentally unlike any other sensation
synonyms QUALITY , PROPERTY , CHARACTER , ATTRIBUTE mean an intelligible feature by which a thing may be identified. QUALITY is a general term applicable to any trait or characteristic whether individual or generic <material with a silky quality >. PROPERTY implies a characteristic that belongs to a thing's essential nature and may be used to describe a type or species <the property of not conducting heat>. CHARACTER applies to a peculiar and distinctive quality of a thing or a class <remarks of an unseemly character >. ATTRIBUTE implies a quality ascribed to a thing or a being <the traditional attributes of a military hero>.