There
is a curious anomaly with the word. On the one hand it signifies ‘absolute
sameness’ and on the other ‘completely unique’. The writing of a sign or
signifier to convey the word is problematic – the puzzle of puzzles, yet in
each case, the condition of the symbol is simultaneously the same and unique.
Whatever its condition or position, there are a variety of definitions and
characteristics applied to the word, to wit:
I-
From the Concise Oxford Dictionary:
Identity, n. Absolute
sameness; individuality, personality, (-disc.
see prec.); (Alg.) equality of two expressions for all values of the literal
quantities. expression of this, e.g. (x + 1)2 = x2 + 2x + 1. [f. LL identitas. irreg. f. idem same (see –TY)]
II-
From various on line dictionaries:
i·den·ti·ty
[ahy-den-ti-tee, ih-den-] noun, plural i·den·ti·ties.
1. the state or fact of remaining the same one or
ones, as under varying aspects or conditions: The identity of the
fingerprints on the gun with those on file provided evidence that he was the
killer.
2. the condition of being oneself or itself, and not
another: He doubted his own identity.
3. condition or character as to who a person or what
a thing is: a case of mistaken identity.
4. the state or fact of being the same one as
described.
5. the sense of self, providing sameness and
continuity in personality over time and sometimes disturbed in mental
illnesses, as schizophrenia.
7. an instance or point of sameness or likeness: to
mistake resemblances for identities.
8. Logic. an assertion that two terms
refer to the same thing.
9. Mathematics .
a. an equation that is valid for all values of its
variables.
b. Also called identity element, unit element, unity.
an element in a set such that the element operating on
any other element of the set leaves the second element unchanged.
c. the property of a function or map such that each
element is mapped into itself.
d. the function or map itself.
10. Australian Informal. an
interesting, famous, or eccentric resident, usually of long standing in a community.
Related forms
non·i·den·ti·ty, noun
Synonyms: individuality,
personality, distinctiveness, uniqueness
identity (aɪˈdɛntɪtɪ) n , pl –ties
1- the state of
having unique identifying characteristics held by no other person or thing
2- the individual characteristics by which a person or thing is recognized
3- Also called: numerical
identity the property of being one and the same individual: his loss of
memory did not affect his identity
4- Also called: qualitative
identity the state of being the same in nature, quality, etc: they were
linked by the identity of their tastes
5- the state of
being the same as a person or thing described or claimed: the identity of
the stolen goods has not yet been established
6-
identification of oneself as: moving to London destroyed his Welsh identity
7- logic
a. that relation that holds only between any
entity and itself
b.
an
assertion that that relation holds, as Cicero is Tully
8- maths
a- an equation that is valid for all
values of its variables, as in -
( x -- y )( x
+ y ) = x ² -- y ². Often denoted by the symbol ≡
b- See also inverse -
Also called: identity element a member of a set that when operating on another member, x,
produces that member x: the identity for
multiplication of numbers is 1 since x
.1 = 1. x = x
9- informal (Austral),
(NZ) a well-known person, esp in a specified locality; figure (esp in
the phrase an old identity)
[C16: from Late Latin identitās,
from Latin idem the same]
Origin/History
identity - 1570, from M.Fr.
identité (14c.), from L.L. (5c.) identitatem (nom. identitas)
"sameness," from ident-, comb. form of L. idem (neut.) "the
same" (see identical); abstracted from identidem
"over and over," from phrase idem et idem. Term identity
crisis first recorded 1954
Medical
identity i·den·ti·ty (ī-děn'tĭ-tē) n
1- the set of
behavioural or personal characteristics by which an
individual is recognizable as a member of a group.
2- the distinct
personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity; individuality.
STRANDS OF IDENTITY WEB:
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