noun pl. qualities -·ties

1. any of the features that make something what it is; characteristic element; attribute
2. basic nature; character; kind
3. the degree of excellence which a thing possesses
4. excellence; superiority
5. Now Rare position, capacity, or role
6. 1. Now Rare high social position
   2. Now Chiefly Dial. people of high social position
7. Acoustics the property of a tone determined by its overtones; timbre
8. Logic that characteristic of a proposition according to which it is classified as affirmative or negative
9. Phonet. the distinctive character of a vowel sound as determined by the resonance of the vocal cords and the shape of the air passage above the larynx when the sound is produced

Etymology: ME qualite < OFr < L qualitas < qualis, of what kind: see quale

adjective