Quality

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkwɒl.ɪ.ti/

Definitions

1. The degree of excellence or superiority that something possesses, or a distinctive characteristic or attribute
2. The standard of excellence or worth of an item, along with the unique traits or features that distinguish it from others
3. A measure of excellence or value that something displays, as well as the specific characteristics that define it

Etymology: Plato, it seems, is the one who first gave this idea a name. In ancient Greek, "poiotes" was built from "poios," meaning "of what nature" or "of what kind," so a quality was originally just an answer to the question "what sort of thing is this?" Cicero later translated that Greek coinage into Latin as "qualitas," a calque built from "qualis," meaning "of what kind." The Latin word is an ancestor of the "who" and "how" family of words, which is why the English term still carries the sense of asking about kind rather than about worth. English took the word through Old French "qualite" and entered Middle English from there. The meaning "level of excellence," the sense you see in phrases like "a product of high quality," grew out of the older neutral sense of "kind" or "nature," so that a thing's "quality" came to mean how good its kind was.

Synonyms: caliber, standard, grade, character, attribute

Antonyms: inferiority, mediocrity, poor quality