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This week's theme Contranyms, or words with an opposite set of meanings. This week's words cleave continuance asperse copemate quiddity Today's word in Visual Thesaurus Next week's theme Prepositions. Me Talk Pretty Some Day Make that day today -- get Anu's latest DORD and enunciate! Discuss Feedback RSS/XML A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg quiddity PRONUNCIATION: (KWID-i-tee) MEANING: noun: 1. The essence of someone or something. 2. A trifling point. ETYMOLOGY: From Latin quid (what) which also gave us quidnunc and quid pro quo. USAGE: "Pondering this reversal of fortune, Anicius Manlius Boethius composed a soliloquy in which, queried by Philosophy as to his quiddity, he replied: 'I am a man, a rational and mortal animal.'" Alvin Moore Jr.; The Noble Traveler; Parabola (New York); Jun 1996. "Any kind of lackadaisical activity, any sort of diverting quiddity to take a person's mind off mundane, everyday, small-change troubles." Guy Friddell; Perfect Day is Fine Excuse For Lackadaisical Activity; The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Virginia); May 27, 2004. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Conscience is the still, small voice which tells a candidate that what he is doing is likely to lose him votes. -Anonymous

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