different between quality vs idiosyncrasy

English

Etymology

From Middle English [Term?], from Old French qualité, from Latin qu?lit?tem, accusative of qu?lit?s, from qu?lis (“of what kind”), from Proto-Indo-European *k?o- (“who, how”). Cicero coined qualitas as a calque to translate the Ancient Greek word ??????? (poiót?s, “quality”), coined by Plato from ????? (poîos, “of what nature, of what kind”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?kw?l?ti/
• (UK, obsolete) IPA^(key): /?kwæl?ti/, /?kwæl?t?/
• (US, father-bother merger, weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /?kw?l?ti/, [?k?w????i]

Noun

quality (countable and uncountable, plural qualities)

1. (uncountable) Level of excellence.
   • 2019, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     He called for China’s cooperation in efforts to improve air quality.

2. (countable) A property or an attribute that differentiates a thing or person.
3. (archaic) High social position. (See also the quality.)

4. (uncountable) The degree to which a man-made object or system is free from bugs and flaws, as opposed to scope of functions or quantity of items.
5. (thermodynamics) In a two-phase liquid–vapor mixture, the ratio of the mass of vapor present to the total mass of the mixture.
6. (emergency medicine, countable) The third step in OPQRST where the responder investigates what the NOI/MOI feels like.

7. (countable, Britain, journalism) A newspaper with relatively serious, high-quality content.
   • 1998, Bill Coxall, Lynton Robins, Robert Leach, Contemporary British Politics (page 164)

     It is argued that in the last ten years or so, quality broadsheet newspapers have become more like the tabloids. Anthony Sampson has argued that 'the frontier between the qualities and popular papers has virtually disappeared'.

Usage notes

• Adjectives often applied to "quality": high, good, excellent, exceptional, great, outstanding, satisfactory, acceptable, sufficient, adequate, poor, low, bad, inferior, dubious, environmental, visual, optical, industrial, total, artistic, educational, physical, musical, chemical, spiritual, intellectual, architectural, mechanical.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:characteristic

Hyponyms

• human quality
• industrial quality

Coordinate terms

• (a property that differentiates): quiddity

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adjective

quality (comparative more quality, superlative most quality)

1. Being of good worth, well made, fit for purpose.

Derived terms

• qualityness

Related terms

• qualia
• qualitative

Translations

References

• Quality (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Further reading

• quality in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• quality in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• quality at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology

First attested in 1604, in modern sense since 1665, from Ancient Greek ????????????? (idiosunkrasía, “one’s own temperament”), from ????? (ídios, “one’s own”) + ??? (sún, “together”) + ?????? (krâsis, “temperament”). Analyzable as idio- +? syn- +? -crasy.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??d??(?)?s??k??si/
• IPA^(key): /??d.i.???s??.k??.si/
• IPA^(key): /??di.??s??k??si/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??dio??s??k??si/
• Hyphenation: idio?syn?crasy

Noun

idiosyncrasy (plural idiosyncrasies)

1. A behavior or way of thinking that is characteristic of a person.
2. A language or behaviour that is particular to an individual or group.
3. (medicine) A peculiar individual reaction to a generally innocuous substance or factor.
4. A peculiarity that serves to distinguish or identify.

Synonyms

• eccentricity
• foible
• habit
• mannerism
• oddity
• quirk
• vagary

Derived terms

• idiosyncratic
• idiosyncratically

Translations

See also

References

• idiosyncrasy in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• idiosyncrasy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.