quiddity
(noun)
noun
1. an evasion of the point of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions or objections
Similar word(s): cavil, quibble
Definition categories: communication, equivocation, evasion
2. the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other
Similar word(s): haecceity
Definition categories: thought, center, centre, core, essence, gist, heart, inwardness, kernel, marrow, meat, nub, pith, substance, sum