[quan.ti.ty] n, pl -ties [ME quantite, fr. MF quantite, fr. L quantitat-, quantitas, fr. quantus how much, how large; akin to L quam how, as, quando when, qui who--more at who] (14c) 1 a: an indefinite amount or number b: a determinate or estimated amount c: total amount or number d: a considerable amount or number--often used in pl. "generous quantities of luck --H. E. Putsch"
2. a: the aspect in which a thing is measurable in terms of greater, less, or equal or of increasing or decreasing magnitude b: the subject of a mathematical operation c: an individual considered with respect to a given situation "an unknown ~ ... as attorney general --Tom Wicker" 3 a: duration and intensity of speech sounds as distinct from their individual quality or phonemic character; specif: the relative length or brevity of a prosodic syllable in some languages (as Greek and Latin) b: the relative duration or time length of a speech sound or sound sequence
4: the character of a logical proposition as being universal, particular, or singular