QUALITY • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Quality

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/kwˈɑləti/ Listen

noun

Quality n. (pl. qualities)

1.

The condition of being of such and such a sort as distinguished from others; nature or character relatively considered, as of goods; character; sort; rank. "We lived most joyful, obtaining acquaintance with many of the city not of the meanest quality."

2.

Special or temporary character; profession; occupation; assumed or asserted rank, part, or position. "I made that inquiry in quality of an antiquary."

3.

That which makes, or helps to make, anything such as it is; anything belonging to a subject, or predicable of it; distinguishing property, characteristic, or attribute; peculiar power, capacity, or virtue; distinctive trait; as, the tones of a flute differ from those of a violin in quality; the great quality of a statesman. Note: Qualities, in metaphysics, are primary or secondary. Primary are those essential to the existence, and even the conception, of the thing, as of matter or spirit Secondary are those not essential to such a conception.

4.

An acquired trait; accomplishment; acquisition. "He had those qualities of horsemanship, dancing, and fencing which accompany a good breeding."

5.

Superior birth or station; high rank; elevated character. "Persons of quality."

Quality binding, a kind of worsted tape used in Scotland for binding carpets, and the like.

The quality, those of high rank or station, as distinguished from the masses, or common people; the nobility; the gentry. "I shall appear at the masquerade dressed up in my feathers, that the quality may see how pretty they will look in their traveling habits."

Synonyms: Property; attribute; nature; peculiarity; character; sort; rank; disposition; temper.

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Etymology of 'Quality'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Quality" Quotes from Famous Books

... or word, carry its own refutation along with it? And if not, what are we to think of that attribute of justice, which demands an eternity to inflict the infinite pangs due to a single sin? Is it a quality to inspire the soul with a rational worship, or to fill it with a horror which casteth ...

— A Theodicy, or, Vindication of the Divine Glory • Albert Taylor Bledsoe

... many who have visited this sea, that neither fish nor shells are to be found in it, and that its shores, frightfully barren, are never cheered by the note of any bird. The inhabitants in its vicinity, however, are not sensible of any noxious quality in its vapor; and the accounts of birds falling down dead in attempting to fly over it are entirely fabulous. The water is exceedingly nauseous, and the effluvia arising from it unwholesome, but so buoyant, that gentlemen, ...

— The World of Waters - A Peaceful Progress o'er the Unpathed Sea • Mrs. David Osborne

... actors and actresses who from time to time visited England. It would be easy to attribute this to jealousy, but the easy explanation is not the true one. He simply would not give himself up to appreciation. Perhaps appreciation is a wasting though a generous quality of the mind and heart, and best left to lookers-on, who have plenty of time ...

— The Story of My Life - Recollections and Reflections • Ellen Terry

... on the coals, as we found that without salt meat was most palatable when treated in this way. This is explained by the fact that the ashes of the fire contain a certain saline quality. We obtained mealies in all sorts of extraordinary ways. Sometimes we harvested it ourselves, but more often we found quantities hidden in caves or kraals. Mealies were also purchased from the natives. Every general did all that was possible to sow in the district ...

— My Reminiscences of the Anglo-Boer War • Ben Viljoen

... of the chief manufacturing and mercantile countries of the world, it has been only during the past one hundred years, and especially during the past fifty years, that her development in manufactures and in commerce has been remarkable. Britain is still, in respect of quality, the foremost agricultural country on the globe. Her breeds of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine are the standard breeds from which almost all other breeds derive their origin, and by which from time to time they are improved. ...

— Up To Date Business - Home Study Circle Library Series (Volume II.) • Various

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