Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 20, 2026 is:
 
 
 
 
 quiddity &#149; \KWID-uh-tee\&nbsp; &#149; noun
 Quiddity refers to the essence of a thing—that is, whatever makes something the type of thing that it is. Quiddity can also refer to a small and usually trivial complaint or criticism, or to a quirk or <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eccentricity">eccentricity</a> in someone's behavior. 

// The novelist’s genius was her unparalleled ability to capture the quiddity of the Maine seacoast in simple prose. 

// He portrayed the character's quirks and quiddities with tender playfulness. 

<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quiddity">See the entry ></a> 
 
 
 
 Examples:
 “When I was gathering my <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ode">odes</a> into a book—or rather, piling up my effusions in prose and verse and trying to work out which ones were odes and which weren’t—my friend Carlo gave me a magical concept. He called it ‘the odeness.’ It’s the essential quality, quiddity, … uniqueness of whatever you’re trying to write about. It’s what your ode is attempting to first identify and then celebrate. It’s the odeness of your ode.” — James Parker, The Atlantic, 30 Sept. 2025 
 
 
 
 Did you know?
 When it comes to synonyms of quiddity, the <a href="https://bit.ly/4b3NF90">Q</a>’s have it. Consider <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quintessence">quintessence</a>, a synonym of the “essence of a thing” meaning of quiddity, and <a href="https://bit.ly/3KYqimT">quibble</a>, a synonym of the “trifling point” use. And let’s not forget about <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quirk">quirk</a>: like quiddity, quirk can refer to a person’s <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eccentricity">eccentricities</a>. Of course, quiddity also comes from a “Q” word, the Latin pronoun quis, which is one of two Latin words for “who” (the other is qui). Quid, the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neuter">neuter</a> form of quis, led to the Medieval Latin quidditas, which means “essence,” a term that was essential to the development of the English word quiddity.

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