Veridicalities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of being truthful or accurate in representation
2. The condition of affirming reality or authenticity in a claim or statement
3. Instances or variations of truthfulness associated with perceptions or beliefs

Etymology: "Veridicalities" is the plural of "veridicality," a noun built from the adjective "veridical" plus the suffix "-ity." The adjective goes back to Latin "veridicus," made from "verus" ("true") and "dicere" ("to say"), so it literally means "truth-speaking." English adopted "veridical" as a learned formation from those Latin parts, and the "-ity" ending that turns it into a noun is the same suffix found in words like "reality" and "clarity." The suffix has a longer ancestry than the word itself. "-ity" descends from Latin "-itas," which passed into Old French as "-ite" and then into Middle English as "-ite," before the spelling settled into the modern "-ity" form. Each of these steps shows the same abstract-quality ending, so "veridicality" is essentially "the quality of being veridical." The plural form "veridicalities" simply counts separate instances of that quality, which is why the meaning as given here refers to particular cases of truthfulness in perceptions or beliefs rather than the abstract idea alone.

Synonyms: truthfulness, accuracy, factuality

Antonyms: falsehood, deception