c. 1600, from Medieval Latin insubstantialis "not substantial," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + Late Latin substantialis "having substance or reality, material," in Late Latin "pertaining to the substance or essence," from substantia "being, essence, material" (see substance). Related: Insubstantially.
-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]