entity

Etymology

From the Medieval Latin entitās, from ēns (“being”) (stem: ent-) + -tās (compare essentia), see there for more information.

noun

1. That which has a distinct existence as an individual unit. Often used for organisations which have no physical form.
2. The existence of something considered apart from its properties.
3. (databases) Anything about which information or data can be stored in a database; in particular, an organised array or set of individual elements or parts.
4. The state or quality of being or existence.
   The group successfully maintains its tribal entity.
5. A spirit, ghost, or the like.
   [B]ut only too often séances degenerate into pure sorcery or necromancy, attracting all kinds of undeveloped and earth-bound entities. 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 231
6. (science fiction) An alien lifeform that has no corporeal body.