QUALITY • E-FREE TRANSLATION.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

... coal, and wood is the chief obstacle to the material development of Utah. No iron-mines have been discovered, except in the extreme southern portion of the Territory; and the quality of the ore is so inferior, that it is available only for the manufacture of the commonest household utensils, such as andirons. The principal coal-beds hitherto found are in the immediate vicinity of Green River. There are several sawmills, all run by water-power, scattered among the more densely-wooded ...

— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 3, No. 19, May, 1859 • Various

... fact, that the dominant classes in Society, whether the form of Government be a Monarchy, an Oligarchy, or a Democracy, are, in the main, and except, perhaps, in transitional epochs, the classes who possess, in reality, superior capacities of the quality the age ...

— Continental Monthly , Vol. 6, No. 1, July, 1864 - Devoted to Literature and National Policy. • Various

... deal of the Kembles here, and like them both, especially the Fanny, who is looking magnificent still, with her black hair and radiant smile. A very noble creature, indeed. Somewhat unelastic, unpliant to the eye, attached to the old modes of thought and convention, but noble in quality and defects; I like her much. She thinks me credulous and full of dreams, but does not despise me for that reason, which is good and tolerant of her, and pleasant, too, for I should not be quite easy under her contempt. Mrs. Sartoris is genial and ...

— The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume II • Elizabeth Barrett Browning

... coat. But Polikey, pointing to his breast, said that he could buy out the whole shop if he wished to. He thereupon ordered the shop-keeper to take his measure. He tried the coat on and looked himself over carefully, testing the quality and blowing upon the hair to see that none of it came out. Finally, heaving a deep ...

— The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories • Leo Tolstoy

... of either of his own sisters. Samantha, or Keziah, or Pamela could have been "made over" into two Almiras, in every thing but height; and Dab made up his mind at once that either of them could beat her at smiling,—not so much, perhaps, as to mere quantity, but as to quality. ...

— Dab Kinzer - A Story of a Growing Boy • William O. Stoddard

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