identity

identity
\ \ [16] The historical meaning of identity is best preserved in its derivative identical [17] – ‘the same’. For its ultimate source was Latin idemsame’, a pronoun (formed from idit, that one’ with the suffix -dem) used in English since the 17th century for referring to a previously cited author or text. This formed the basis of late Latin identitās, which meant literally ‘sameness’; the main meaning of its English descendant identity, ‘individuality, set of definitive characteristics’, arose from the notion of something always being the same or always being itself (rather than something else).

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Identity — may refer to:Philosophy* Identity (philosophy), the sameness of two things * Identity theory of mind, in the philosophy of mind, holds that the mind is identical to the brain * Personal identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity …   Wikipedia

  • Identity 2.0 — Identity 2.0, also called digital identity, is the anticipated revolution of identity verification on the internet using emerging user centric technologies such as Information Cards or OpenID. Identity 2.0 stems from the Web 2.0 theory of the… …   Wikipedia

  • identity — iden·ti·ty n pl ties 1: sameness of essential character or aspect collateral estoppel requires identity of the issues and the parties 2 a: separate or distinct existence when movables lose their identity or become an integral part of the… …   Law dictionary

  • identity — UK US /aɪˈdentəti/ noun [C or U] (plural identities) ► the reputation, characteristics, etc. of a person or organization that makes the public think about them in a particular way: »Companies often spend a fortune on branding in their attempts to …   Financial and business terms

  • Identity — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda La expresión Identity puede referirse a: El álbum de música Identity, de Zee, editado en 1993. El programa de televisión Identity Obtenido de Identity Categoría: Wikipedia:Desambiguación …   Wikipedia Español

  • Identity — I*den ti*ty, n.; pl. {Identities}. [F. identit[ e], LL. identitas, fr. L. idem the same, from the root of is he, that; cf. Skr. idam this. Cf. {Item}.] 1. The state or quality of being identical, or the same; sameness. [1913 Webster] Identity is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • identity — (n.) c.1600, sameness, oneness, from M.Fr. identité (14c.), from L.L. (5c.) identitatem (nom. identitas) sameness, from ident , comb. form of L. idem (neut.) the same (see IDENTICAL (Cf. identical)); abstracted from identidem over and over, from… …   Etymology dictionary

  • identity — [n1] person’s individuality character, circumstances, coherence, distinctiveness, existence, identification, integrity, ipseity, name, oneness, particularity, personality, self, selfdom, selfhood, selfness, singleness, singularity, status,… …   New thesaurus

  • identity — [ī den′tə tē] n. pl. identities [Fr identité < LL identitas, coined (prob. infl. by LL essentitas, essence) < L idem, the same, akin to Sans idám, the same < IE base * e , *ei , he, that > Sans ayám, OIr ē, Goth is, he] 1. the… …   English World dictionary

  • identity — ► NOUN (pl. identities) 1) the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. 2) the characteristics determining this. 3) a close similarity or affinity. 4) Mathematics an equation expressing the equality of two expressions for all values of the …   English terms dictionary

  • identity — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ true ▪ assumed, false ▪ He was discovered living under an assumed identity in South America. ▪ mistaken ▪ This is obviously a case o …   Collocations dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”