Quiddity

n.	1.	The essence, nature, or distinctive peculiarity, of a thing; that which answers the question, Quid est? or, What is it? The quiddity or characteristic difference of poetry as distinguished from prose. - De Quincey.
	2.	A trifling nicety; a cavil; a quibble. We laugh at the quiddities of those writers now. - Coleridge.

Noun	1.	quiddity - an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections Synonyms: cavil, quibble
	2.	quiddity - the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other Synonyms: haecceity

axiom, cavil, center, core, dodge, elixir, essence, essential, flower, focus, fundamental, gist, gravamen, heart, hypostasis, inner essence, jesuitism, kernel, marrow, meat, nub, nucleus, nuts and bolts, pith, postulate, principle, quibble, quid, quillet, quintessence, quip, quirk, quodlibet, sap, shuffle, soul, spirit, stuff, substance, the nitty-gritty