In Latin is where we can find the etymological origin of the word quantify that now concerns us. It is a term that is the result of the sum of two components of said language:
- “Quantum”, which can be translated as “how much”.
- The verb “facere”, which is synonymous with “do”.
What is quantify
To quantify is a verb that refers to the action of stating a quantity. The quantitative, therefore, consists of the expression of a magnitude through numbers.
- Abbreviationfinder: Find definitions of English word – Media. Commonly used abbreviations related to word are also included.
For example: “Gulotti says his business trip to Africa was a success, but he still doesn’t quantify his achievements”, “Could you quantify how much material we need to repair this room?” , “By not quantifying the losses, we still don’t know how many employees we will have to lay off”.
Quantifying implies expressing a magnitude or quantity by means of numbers.
Differences with the qualitative
When a person quantifies something, he is translating or converting some phenomenon into concrete values. It is not the same to say a “deputy earns a lot of money” than “a deputy earns 45,000 pesos per month”. The first expression could be considered qualitative, while the second is clearly quantitative.
In everyday life, we need to quantify quantities at all times. If we go to a grocery store, we usually don’t ask for “a little potato” or “a lot of apples”, but we ask for “two kilograms of potatoes” and “five apples”, to mention one possibility. This same quantification allows the greengrocer to charge us according to the weight of the purchased merchandise.
Quantify proteins
Within the medical field, we have to establish that there is such a thing as quantifying proteins. It is a method for the analysis of proteins from biological samples and that focuses especially on what would be the study of the so-called plasma proteins.
Specifically, we can say that among the most significant methods of this type that exist are the Biuret method, the Lowry method or the so-called turbidimetry.
The act of quantifying is frequent in everyday life.
The concept in construction and in the judicial field
Another area where the word in question is used is in construction. And it is that in this one it is spoken of quantifying building materials to refer to the process in which, based on the reforms that are going to be undertaken and the space where it is going to work, a count of all the materials that are necessary in this regard.
Likewise, in the field of the judicial sector and Law, the material and moral damages that a person has suffered when being the victim of an accident, medical negligence or aggression are also quantified. Once quantified, that citizen will be compensated for the suffering, physical and mental, that he may have suffered from the exposed events.
Quantify as a basis for an opinion
By quantifying, on the other hand, it is possible to substantiate an opinion. A singer can define himself as “successful” and quantify said success by expressing that he sold 200,000 records and gathered more than half a million people on his last tour.
Similarly, a journalist can refute a soccer coach who claimed to have had a good campaign with his team, by quantifying the performance of his team (which played twenty games, won three, drew eight and lost nine).
