noun pl. identities
- the condition or fact of being the same or exactly alike; sameness; oneness: groups united by identity of interests
- the condition or fact of being a specific person or thing; individuality
- the characteristics and qualities of a person, considered collectively and regarded as essential to that person's self-awareness
- the condition of being the same as a person or thing described or claimed
- Math. an equation which is true for all permissible sets of values of the variables which appear in it: Ex.: x - y= (x + y) (x - y)
Origin:
Fr identité < LL identitas, coined (prob. infl. by LL essentitas, essence) < L idem, the same, akin to Sans idám, the same < IE base *e-, *ei-, he, that > Sans ayám, OIr ē, Goth is, he