identity

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity
  2. noun the individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known
  3. noun an operator that leaves unchanged the element on which it operates

Etymology

From Middle English ydemptite, from Middle French identité and its etymon Late Latin idemptitās, identitās, from idem (“the same”) + -tās (suffix forming abstract nouns) as a calque of Ancient Greek ταὐτότης (tautótēs, “sameness”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

personal identity, individuality

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