quiddity

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The Word of the Day for August 7 is: 

quiddity   \KWID-uh-tee\   noun
   *1 : whatever makes something the type that it is : essence 
     2 a : a trifling point : quibble b : crotchet, eccentricity 

Example sentence: 
     "We wanted to enhance [the house] without 'countrifying' 
it -- for it to retain its quiddity, its 'whatness.'" (April 
Gornik in _Architectural Digest_, April 1989) 

Did you know? 
     When it comes to synonyms of "quiddity," the Q's have it. 
Consider "quintessence," a synonym of the "essence of a 
thing "sense of "quiddity" (this oldest sense of "quiddity" 
dates from the 14th century). "Quibble" is a  synonym of 
the "trifling point" sense; that meaning of "quiddity" arose 
from the subtler points of 16th-century academic arguments. 
And "quirk," like "quiddity," can refer to a person's 
eccentricities. Of course, "quiddity" also derives from a "Q" 
word, the Latin pronoun "quis," which is one of two Latin words 
for "who" (the other is "qui"). "Quid," the neuter form 
of "quis," gave rise to the Medieval Latin "quidditas," which 
means "essence," a term that was essential to the development of 
the English "quiddity."

 *Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.