Immaterialities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The qualities or aspects that lack physical substance or tangible reality
2. The characteristics that are not of a material nature, often related to concepts or ideas rather than physical objects
3. Elements or features that are considered non-physical, emphasizing intangible factors over material existence

Etymology: "Immaterialities" is simply the plural of "immateriality," which means the quality of being immaterial, or of lacking physical substance. The noun is built from "immaterial" plus the English suffix "-ity," which turns an adjective into an abstract noun, as in "ability" or "reality." So the plural names several such qualities at once, the separate aspects of things that have no bodily form. "Immaterial" itself combines the prefix "im-," meaning "not," with "material," from Latin "materialis," derived from "materia," meaning matter or substance. The root sense is therefore literal: something not made of matter. Over time the word took on its figurative senses, such as a point that does not matter, which the adjective still carries alongside its physical meaning.