Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

quality

 
Dictionary: qual·i·ty   (kwŏl'ĭ-tē) pronunciation
n., pl., -ties.
    1. An inherent or distinguishing characteristic; a property.
    2. A personal trait, especially a character trait: "The most vital quality a soldier can possess is self-confidence" (George S. Patton).
  1. Essential character; nature: "The quality of mercy is not strain'd" (Shakespeare).
    1. Superiority of kind: an intellect of unquestioned quality.
    2. Degree or grade of excellence: yard goods of low quality.
    1. High social position.
    2. Those in a high social position.
  2. Music. Timbre, as determined by harmonics: a voice with a distinctive metallic quality.
  3. Linguistics. The character of a vowel sound determined by the size and shape of the oral cavity and the amount of resonance with which the sound is produced.
  4. Logic. The positive or negative character of a proposition.
adj.
Having a high degree of excellence: the importance of quality health care.

[Middle English qualite, from Old French, from Latin quālitās, quālitāt-, from quālis, of what kind.]

SYNONYMS   quality, property, attribute, character, trait. These nouns signify a feature that distinguishes or identifies someone or something: explained the qualities of noble gases; tested the resilient property of rubber; knew the attributes of a fine wine; liked the rural character of the ranch; had positive traits such as kindness and generosity.


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

In philosophy, a property that applies to things taken singly, in contrast to a relation, which applies to things taken in pairs, triples, etc. The distinction drawn by Galileo and John Locke between primary and secondary qualities is motivated by the fact that modern science seems to reveal that unaided sensory perception gives false or incomplete information about the intrinsic qualities of physical objects. In this view, primary qualities, such as shape, quantity, and motion, are genuine properties of things that are describable by mathematics, whereas secondary qualities, such as odour, taste, sound, and colour, exist only in human consciousness.

For more information on quality, visit Britannica.com.

Measure of conformance of a product or service to certain specifications or standards. See also Total Quality Management; Appraisal Costs; Internal Failure Costs; External Failure Costs; Preventive Costs.

Thesaurus: quality
Top

noun

  1. A distinctive element: attribute, character, characteristic, feature, mark, peculiarity, property, savor, trait. See be.
  2. A level of superiority that is usually high: caliber, merit, stature, value, virtue, worth. See good/bad, value/worthlessness/evaluation.
  3. High style in quality, manner, or dress: refinement. Informal class. See style/good style/bad style.
  4. Degree of excellence: caliber, class, grade. See be, value/worthlessness/evaluation.
  5. People of the highest social level: aristocracy, blue blood, crème de la crème, elite, flower, gentility, gentry, nobility, patriciate, society, upper class, who's who. Informal upper crust. See over/under.

adjective

    Exceptionally good of its kind: ace, banner, blue-ribbon, brag, capital, champion, excellent, fine1, first-class, first-rate, prime, splendid, superb, superior, terrific, tiptop, top. Informal A-one, bully, dandy, great, swell, topflight, topnotch. Slang boss. Chiefly British tophole. See good/bad.

Dental Dictionary: quality
Top

n

In reference to the voice, the acoustic characteristics of vowels resulting from their overtone structure or the relative intensities of their frequency component.

1. A fundamental aspect or attribute of sensory experience, which is distinguishable in non-quantitative terms from others in the same sensory field.

2. The value, grade, or standard of excellence a performance. Compare quantity.

Purity of contents, care in presentation and finish of a product.

  • q. assurance — planned and systematic action necessary to provide adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy given requirements for quality. Quality is built into the product or service, rather than ‘inspected in’.
  • q. control — the use of operational techniques, particularly end-product testing or inspection to ensure that a product or service satisfies its stated or implied role.
  • q. of life — generally regarded as the balance between pleasant and unpleasant factors and experiences as they apply to an animal's physical and mental state. A term used in discussions of euthanasia or intensive treatment.
  • protein q. — relates to the content and balance of amino acids in the protein. A good quality protein contains the amino acids in the correct proportions required by the specific animal species.
  • radiographic q. — depends on the correct positioning of the subject part, good contrast, clear image due to good detail and absence of artifacts.
Word Tutor: quality
Top
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: The features that make a thing what it is. Also: The degree of excellence.

pronunciation To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own. — Anne Lindbergh

Quotes About: Quality
Top

Quotes:

"Everything can be improved." - C. W. Barron

"Men are more important than tools. If you don't believe so, put a good tool into the hands of a poor workman." - John J. Bernet

"One of the rarest things that a man ever does, is to do the best he can." - Josh Billings

"If it's good they'll stop making it." - Henry Block

"When I want any, good head work done; I always choose a man, if possible with a long nose." - Napoleon Bonaparte

"Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well." - Steve Brown

See more famous quotes about Quality

Wikipedia: Quality
Top

Quality may refer to:

Concepts:

In music:

Other uses:


Translations: Quality
Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - kvalitet, beskaffenhed, type, egenskab, klangfarve
adj. - kvalitets-

idioms:

  • quality control    kvalitetskontrol, kvalitetsstyring
  • quality paper    kvalitetscertifikat
  • quality press    den seriøse presse

Nederlands (Dutch)
kwaliteit, gehalte, eigenschap, hoedanigheid, klank (b.v. van stem), kwaliteits-

Français (French)
n. - qualité, caractéristique, les gens de qualité (arch)
adj. - de qualité

idioms:

  • quality control    contrôle de qualité
  • quality paper    journal de qualité
  • quality press    presse de qualité

Deutsch (German)
n. - Qualität, Eigenschaft, Rang
adj. - Qualitäts-, Güte-

idioms:

  • quality control    Qualitätskontrolle
  • quality paper    anspruchsvolle Zeitung
  • quality press    die besseren Zeitungen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ποιότητα, ιδιότητα, χαρακτηριστικό, ικανότητα, αρετή, χάρισμα, προσόν, πλεονέκτημα
adj. - ποιοτικός

idioms:

  • quality control    (οικον.) ποιοτικός έλεγχος
  • quality paper    ποιοτική εφημερίδα
  • quality press    ποιοτικός τύπος

Italiano (Italian)
qualità, proprietà, di prima qualità

idioms:

  • quality control    controllo di qualità
  • quality paper    giornale serio
  • quality press    stampa di qualità

Português (Portuguese)
n. - qualidade (f)
adj. - de qualidade

idioms:

  • quality control    controle de qualidade
  • quality paper    papel de primeira qualidade
  • quality press    imprensa para leitores de alto nível

Русский (Russian)
качество

idioms:

  • quality control    контроль качества
  • quality paper    респектабельная газета
  • quality press    респектабельная пресса

Español (Spanish)
n. - calidad, categoría, clase, cualidad, don
adj. - de calidad, de categoría

idioms:

  • quality control    control de calidad
  • quality paper    periódico serio
  • quality press    prensa de calidad, impresión de calidad

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kvalitet, beskaffenhet, sort, slag, egenskap, naturlig förmåga, klangfärg, hög rang, stånd (åld.), graden av kreditrisk för värdepapper/kredittagare
adj. - kvalitets-

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
品质, 才能, 特质, 优良的, 高级的, 优质的, 内容严肃的, 上流社会的

idioms:

  • quality control    品质控制, 品质管理, 品管
  • quality paper    高级报纸
  • quality press    高级报纸

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 品質, 才能, 特質
adj. - 優良的, 高級的, 優質的, 內容嚴肅的, 上流社會的

idioms:

  • quality control    品質控制, 品質管理, 品管
  • quality paper    高級報紙
  • quality press    高級報紙

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 질, 소질, 특성
adj. - 상류 사회의, 귀족적인, 훌륭한

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 質, 資質, 品質, 良質, 特質, 本質, 音質, 性質, 高級
adj. - 上流社会の, 良質の, 上等の

idioms:

  • quality control    品質管理
  • quality paper    高級紙
  • quality press    高級誌

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نوع, سجيه, منزله رفيعه, خاصيه (صفه) نوعي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סגולה, תכונה מיוחדת, טיב, איכות‬
adj. - ‮איכותי‬


 
 
Learn More
Godin, Andre (Quotes By)
Ross, Steven J. (Quotes By)
lump lime

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Accounting Dictionary. Dictionary of Accounting Terms. Copyright © 2005 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Sports Science and Medicine. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial Read more
Quotes About. Copyright © 2005 QuotationsBook.com. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Quality" Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more