quality

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   of high social status

   people of quality

2. 2
   noun

   an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone

   the quality of mercy is not strained--Shakespeare

3. 3
   noun

   a degree or grade of excellence or worth

   the quality of students has risen

4. 4
   noun

   a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something

   each town has a quality all its own

5. 5
   noun

   high social status

   A person of quality would not behave uncouthly.

6. 6
   noun

   Level of excellence.

   This school is well-known for having teachers of high quality.

7. 7
   noun

   Something that differentiates a thing or person.

   One of the qualities of pure iron is that it does not rust easily.

8. 8
   noun

   Position; status; rank.

   The firſt Solemn Embaſſy that the French King ſent to the late King of SIAM, was in the Year 1685, by Monſieur de Chaumont, who went in Quality of Ambaſſador Extraordinary […]

Etymology

From Middle English qualite, from Old French qualité, from Latin quālitās, quālitātem, from quālis (“of what kind”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo- (“who, how”). Cicero coined qualitas as a calque to translate the Ancient Greek word ποιότης (poiótēs, “quality”), coined by Plato from ποῖος (poîos, “of what nature, of what kind”).