Meaning

noun an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; --Shakespeare

noun a degree or grade of excellence or worth

noun a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something

originFrom Middle English qualite, from Old French qualité, from Latin quālitās, quālitātem, from quālis (“of what kind”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷo- (“who, how”). Cicero coined qualitas as a calque to translate the Ancient Greek word ποιότης (poiótēs, “quality”), coined by Plato from ποῖος (poîos, “of what nature, of what kind”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0