Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. The essence of a particular thing; those qualities that define it and make it unique.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other
Examples
“Closely related to these theories is one kind of haecceity theory, according to which individuals would be constructs of universal properties with the very important addition of one singular property (an haecceity).”
“His emphasis upon Lolita’s thisness, what Joyce called haecceity, is the unshakable foundation of his effort to restore her individuality, to break the spell of her “nymphage,” to see her as the unique woman he has uniquely damaged.”
“God: concepts of | haecceity: medieval theories of |”
“This leads to a dilemma that was articulated by Steven French and Michael Redhead (1988); either quantum particles are not individuals, or they are individuals but the principle of individuation that applies to them must make reference to some kind of empirically transcendent haecceity, bare particularity or the like.”
“They are not individuated by an haecceity or primitive thisness.”
“The haecceity or thisness of an object, the property of being (identical to) that very object, provides a trivial example of an individual essence for each object.”
“The haecceity of a thing is what makes this particular thing what it is in particular.”
“Now, “God, seeing Alexander's individual notion or haecceity, sees in it at the same time the basis and reason for all the predicates which can be said truly of him.””
“Some would defend the Principle even in this case by claiming that there are properties such as being that very object A. Call such a property a thisness or haecceity.”
“Alternatively, the individuality of an object has been expressed in terms of its ˜haecceity™ or ˜primitive thisness™ (Adams 1979).”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘haecceity’.
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cc
impeccable, accouterment, accoutrement, cc, access, baccivorous, desiccant, floccular, successor, occidental, laccolithic, laccolith and 143 more...
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Slam Fodder
Those words that will inevitable end up in a Slam Poem
feel free to challenge me!:)bumptious, gamekeeper, slamily, burbuliatorius, cryptomnesia, paradox, pulchritudinous, mimetic, anhedonia, skelf, rampike, furlough and 84 more...
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eg's list
lexicolony
nefandous, ineffable, ultracrepidate, haecceity, quiddity, noumenon, hypokeimenon, extemporaneous, theomastix, caducity, niddering, tellurian and 16 more...
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theyearofglad's list
Awesome words.
palimpsest, portmanteau, prolix, sycophant, eschew, revenant, haecceity, velleity, equipoise, caesura, soteriology, inchoate and 23 more...
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JEEZUSS
Words that make me go JEEZUSS.
ruzuzu Wikipedia tells us that haecceity "denotes the discrete qualities, properties or characteristics of a thing which make it a particular thing. Haecceity is a person or object's "thisness"." Then it tells us that "Charles Sanders Peirce later used the term as a non-descriptive reference to an individual." (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Haecceity&oldid=471213437) Feb 15, 2012
hernesheir Thus, haecceity IS that certain je ne sais quoi that people are always going on about. Oct 11, 2011
myroblyte An abuse of Latin? It comes from Duns Scotus. Jul 15, 2010
eg I'd say it's a definitive uniqueness. as compared to quiddity, a definitive likeness. Dec 11, 2008
shevek This is quite a useful word, IMO, but the definition above is vague. As far as I can tell, haecceity is the variable of thisness, the value of which, figuratively speaking of course, is a thing's ergon. Jul 11, 2008
bilby Ugly. Wugly, even. May 8, 2008
andrew.simone 'haec' is a latin word for 'this' (declined from 'hic').
Definitely (still) an abuse of Latin. Dec 28, 2006