Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Identity \I*den"ti*ty\, n.; pl. {Identities}. [F. identit['e],
   LL. identitas, fr. L. idem the same, from the root of is he,
   that; cf. Skr. idam this. Cf. {Item}.]
   1. The state or quality of being identical, or the same;
      sameness.

            Identity is a relation between our cognitions of a
            thing, not between things themselves. --Sir W.
                                                  Hamilton.

   2. The condition of being the same with something described
      or asserted, or of possessing a character claimed; as, to
      establish the identity of stolen goods.

   3. (Math.) An identical equation.