Essence
name, noun ·Very common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 The inherent nature of a thing or idea. countable, uncountable
"CHARITY is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands, ſays an old writer. Gifts and alms are the expreſſions, not the eſſence of this virtue."
- 2 a toiletry that emits and diffuses a fragrant odor wordnet
- 3 The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory. countable, uncountable
- 4 the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience wordnet
- 5 Constituent substance. countable, uncountable
"For Spirits when they pleaſe / Can either Sex aſſume, or both ; ſo ſoft / And uncompounded is their Eſſence pure, / Not ti’d or manacl’d with joynt or limb, / Nor founded on the brittle ſtrength of bones, / Like cumbrous fleſh[…]"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work wordnet
- 7 A being; especially, a purely spiritual being. countable, uncountable
"And put to proof his high Supremacy, / Whether upheld by ſtrength, or Chance, or Fate, / Too well I ſee and rue the dire event, / That with ſad overthrow and foul defeat / Hath loſt us Heav’n, and all this mighty Hoſt / In horrible deſtruction laid thus low, / As far as Gods and Heav’nly Eſſences / Can Periſh."
- 8 any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted wordnet
- 9 A significant feature of something. countable, uncountable
- 10 The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through an extraction or distillation process. countable, uncountable
"essence of Jojoba"
- 11 An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter used for flavouring, or as a restorative. countable, uncountable
"vanilla essence"
- 12 Fragrance, a perfume. countable, uncountable
"Our humbler province is to tend the Fair, / Not a leſs pleaſing, tho’ leſs glorious care ; / To ſave the powder from too rude a gale, / Nor let th’ impriſon’d eſſences exhale[…]"
- 1 A female given name of African-American usage.
Example
More examples"The essence of mathematics is liberty."
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, “I am, exist”).