obscurity

noun, plural ob·scu·ri·ties.

1. the state or quality of being obscure.
2. the condition of being unknown: He lived in obscurity for years before winning acclaim.
3. uncertainty of meaning or expression; ambiguity.
4. an unknown or unimportant person or thing.
5. darkness; dimness; indistinctness.

noun plural -ties

1. the state or quality of being obscure
2. an obscure person or thing

n.late 15c., “absence of light;” 1610s with meaning “condition of being unknown;” from obscure (adj.) + -ity; or else from Middle French obscurité, variant of Old French oscureté “darkness, gloom; vagueness, confusion; insignificance” (14c.), from Latin obscuritatem (nominative obscuritas) “darkness, indistinctness, uncertainty,” from obscurus.