English Explanatory Dictionary

essence

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The inherent nature of a thing or idea.
  2. The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.
  3. Constituent substance.
  4. A being; especially, a purely spiritual being.
  5. A significant feature of something.
  6. The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through an extraction or distillation process.
  7. An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter used for flavouring, or as a restorative.
  8. Fragrance, a perfume.
name
  1. A female given name of African-American usage.

Pronunciation

/ˈɛsəns/ En-us-essence.ogg

Word forms

essence essences

Etymology

From Middle English essence, from Middle French essence, from Latin essentia (“the being or essence of a thing”), from an artificial formation of esse (“to be”), to translate Ancient Greek οὐσία (ousía, “being”), from ὤν (ṓn), present participle of εἰμί (eimí, “to be, exist”).

Synonyms

whatness crux bouquet essence nature ousia quiddity marrow quintessence gist aroma

Related words

essential essentially essentialism quintessential intrinsicality gist

Derived words

coffee essence essenced essenceless essence peddler glabrescence hyperessence in essence k-essence of the essence time is of the essence paradessence superessence unessence vanilla essence
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