entity

English

Etymology

From the Medieval Latin entitās, from ēns (“being”) (stem: ent-) + -tās (compare essentia), see there for more information.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈen.tɪ.ti/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

entity (plural entities)

1. That which has a distinct existence as an individual unit. Often used for organisations which have no physical form.
   • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page ix:

     It is also pertinent to note that the current obvious decline in work on holarctic hepatics most surely reflects a current obsession with cataloging and with nomenclature of the organisms—as divorced from their study as living entities.

   • Individual definition

     A person considered alone, rather than as belonging to a group of people. (1 of 4 individual definitions)

   • Unit definition

     Oneness, singularity, seen as a component of a whole number; a magnitude of one. (1 of 24 unit definitions)

   • Organisation definition

     Standard spelling of organization.
2. The existence of something considered apart from its properties.

   • Existence definition

     The state of being, existing, or occurring; beinghood. (1 of 2 existence definitions)
3. (databases) Anything about which information or data can be stored in a database; in particular, an organised array or set of individual elements or parts.

   • Database definition

     A collection of (usually) organized information in a regular structure, usually but not necessarily in a machine-readable format accessible by a computer. (1 of 4 database definitions)

   • Information definition

     That which resolves uncertainty; anything that answers the question of "what a given entity is". (1 of 14 information definitions)

   • Data definition

     plural of datum (1 of 6 data definitions)

   • Organised definition

     Alternative spelling of organized

   • Array definition

     Clothing and ornamentation. (1 of 12 array definitions)

   • Set definition

     To put (something) down, to rest. (1 of 46 set definitions)

   • Element definition

     One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based. (1 of 27 element definitions)

   • Part definition

     A portion; a component.

     1. A fraction of a whole. (1 of 18 part definitions)
4. The state or quality of being or existence.

   The group successfully maintains its tribal entity.

   • Being definition

     present participle and gerund of be
5. A spirit, ghost, or the like.
   • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 231:

     [B]ut only too often séances degenerate into pure sorcery or necromancy, attracting all kinds of undeveloped and earth-bound entities.

   • Spirit definition

     The soul of a person or other creature. (1 of 15 spirit definitions)

   • Ghost definition

     The spirit; the human soul. (1 of 26 ghost definitions)
6. (science fiction) An alien lifeform that has no corporeal body.

   • Science Fiction definition

     Fiction in which advanced technology or science is a key element. (1 of 2 science fiction definitions)

   • Alien definition

     A person, animal, plant, or other thing which is from outside the family, group, organization, or territory under consideration. (1 of 4 alien definitions)

   • Lifeform definition

     Any specific living organism.

   • Corporeal definition

     Material; tangible; physical. (1 of 2 corporeal definitions)

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:entity

Derived terms

Collocations

Translations

See also

• duality
• trinity
• relationship

Further reading

• entity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “entity”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “entity”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “entity” (US) / “entity” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “entity”, in Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
• “entity” in the Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛntɪtɪ]

Noun

entity

1. inflection of entita:
   1. genitive singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative plural

   • Entita definition

     entity, thing (thing, living or non-living, real or unreal)