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heterogeneity (n.)
1640s, from heterogeneous + -ity, or else from Medieval Latin heterogeneitas, from heterogeneus.
Entries linking to heterogeneity
heterogeneous (adj.)"diverse in kind or nature," 1620s, from Medieval Latin heterogeneus, from Greek heterogenes, from heteros "different" (see hetero-) + genos "kind, gender, race stock" (from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget," with derivatives referring to procreation and familial and tribal groups). Earlier in same sense was heterogeneal (c. 1600). Related: Heterogeneously; heterogeneousness.
-ity
word-forming element making abstract nouns from adjectives and meaning "condition or quality of being ______," from Middle English -ite, from Old French -ete (Modern French -ité) and directly from Latin -itatem (nominative -itas), suffix denoting state or condition, composed of -i- (from the stem or else a connective) + the common abstract suffix -tas (see -ty (2)).
Roughly, the word in -ity usually means the quality of being what the adjective describes, or concretely an instance of the quality, or collectively all the instances; & the word in -ism means the disposition, or collectively all those who feel it. [Fowler]
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Definitions of heterogeneity
heterogeneity (n.)
the quality of being diverse and not comparable in kind;
Synonyms: heterogeneousness
Dictionary entries near heterogeneity
hetero-
hetero
heteroclite
heterodox
heterodoxy
heterogeneity
heterogeneous
heterogenous
heterography
heteromorphic
heteronomy