i·den·ti·ty
(ī-dĕńtĭ-tē)
[French identité, from Old French identite, from Late Latin identitās, from Latin idem, the same (influenced by Late Latin essentitās, being,) (identidem, repeatedly), from id, it.]
noun: pl., -ties.
- The collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognizable or known: “If the broadcast group is the financial guts of the company, the news division is its public identity” (Bill Powell)
- The set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group.
- The quality or condition of being the same as something else.
- The distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity; individuality.
- Information, such as an identification number, used to establish or prove a person's individuality, as in providing access to a credit account.
- Mathematics
- An equation that is satisfied by any number that replaces the letter for which the equation is defined.
- Identity element.
