identity

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Who a person is; the qualities that make someone or something distinct.

   After moving abroad, he struggled to keep his sense of identity.

2. 2
   noun

   The fact of who exactly someone is, often kept secret or needing proof.

   The police would not reveal the identity of the witness.

3. 3
   noun

   An equation that is always true whatever values you put in.

   The formula (x+y)(x−y) = x²−y² is an algebraic identity.

From Middle English ydemptite, from Middle French identité and its etymon Late Latin idemptitās, identitās, from idem (“the same”) + -tās (suffix forming abstract nouns) as a calque of Ancient Greek ταὐτότης (tautótēs, “sameness”).

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