Individualities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Distinctive characteristics or qualities that define a person or thing
2. The unique traits or identities of individuals that separate them from others
3. The particular attributes or features that create personal uniqueness in people or entities

Etymology: "Individualities" is simply the plural of "individuality," which is the quality that makes one thing distinct from every other. The base word "individual" comes from Late Latin "individualis," meaning "indivisible," built from Latin "in-" (not) and "dividuus" (divisible). The sense of a single, separable person developed from that idea of something that cannot be split up. The noun itself was formed in English by attaching the suffix "-ity" to "individual." That suffix passed into English through Old French "-ite" and Latin "-itas," a common ending for turning adjectives into abstract nouns. Before this coinage took hold, English speakers expressed the same idea with the native Old English word "hād," which the newer formation eventually displaced.

Synonyms: uniqueness, distinctiveness

Antonyms: uniformity, sameness