# essence

Pronunciation: say "ES-uhns" /ˈɛsəns/

## Noun

1. The inherent nature of a thing or idea: the qualities that make it what it fundamentally is.
   - Simple: The most basic and true part of what something is.
   - _Improvisation is the essence of jazz._
   - _The remake kept the plot but lost the essence of the original film._
2. A significant feature of something; the quality or element on which it most depends.
   - Simple: The most important part or point of something.
   - _Timing is the essence of good comedy._
   - _Time is of the essence, so the contract sets firm deadlines for each stage._
3. A concentrated preparation drawn from a plant or other source, used either to add flavor or to restore someone's strength.
   - Simple: A strong liquid taken from a plant, used to add flavor to food or drinks.
   - _The recipe calls for a teaspoon of almond essence._
   - _Victorian nurses spooned beef essence into patients too weak for solid food._
4. A fragrance; a perfume.
   - Simple: A sweet or pleasing smell, or a perfume.
   - _The evening air carried the essence of jasmine through the open window._
   - _He brought back a small bottle of essence from the bazaar._
5. The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through distillation.
   - Simple: A very strong form of a plant or drug, made by heating it and collecting the drops.
   - _Distillers extract rose essence from thousands of petals to fill a single small vial._
   - _The pharmacist diluted the concentrated essence before adding it to the tonic._
6. The true nature of anything, as distinct from what is accidental or illusory about it.
   - Simple: What a thing really is deep down, not just how it looks or seems.
   - _Philosophers ask whether objects have a fixed essence or only changing properties._
   - _For Plato, the essence of justice exists apart from any single just act._
7. Constituent substance; the matter of which something is composed.
   - Simple: The basic material that something is made of.
   - _Medieval alchemists believed all metals shared a common essence that could be transformed._
   - _Early astronomers held that the heavens were composed of a fifth essence distinct from earthly matter._
8. A being, especially one that is purely spiritual.
   - Simple: A living being, especially a spirit that has no body.
   - _Medieval theologians described angels as pure essences untouched by matter._
   - _The mystic claimed to have communed with a radiant essence during her vision._

## Origin

From Middle English essence, from Middle French essence, from Latin essentia ("the being or essence of a thing"). The Latin word was an artificial formation from esse ("to be"), created to translate Ancient Greek ousía ("being"), from ṓn, the present participle of eimí ("I am, exist").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/essence (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).