qualites

Qualites is the plural form of the French word qualite, and in English the term is commonly rendered as qualities. The word quality derives from Latin qualitas and refers to the attributes, properties, or characteristics that describe something’s nature or state. In general, qualities can denote what something is like, as well as how well it meets a standard or expectation.

Qualities encompass a wide range of attributes. They can be physical, such as color, texture, weight, or hardness; functional or performance-related, such as speed, efficiency, durability, and reliability; or interpersonal and psychological, such as honesty, courage, creativity, or empathy. In philosophy, qualities are discussed as properties that objects possess, sometimes distinguished into essential versus accidental attributes.

In practical use, the term appears across disciplines. In manufacturing and service industries, quality refers to conformance to requirements and the absence of defects, often managed through quality assurance and quality control. In research and social sciences, qualitative methods describe characteristics, experiences, and meanings rather than numerical measures. In linguistics, qualities function as predicates describing subjects, such as “is red” or “is tall.”

Qualities are distinct from quantities, which express amounts or magnitudes. The assessment of qualities often relies on standards, criteria, or expert judgment, and can be subjective or objective depending on the domain and methods employed. Understanding qualities helps in evaluation, design, branding, and decision-making, where what something is like matters as much as how much of it exists.