# existence

Pronunciation: US say "eg-ZIS-tuhns" /ɛɡˈzɪs.təns/; UK say "ig-ZIS-tuhns" /ɪɡˈzɪs.təns/

## Noun

1. The state of being, existing, or actually occurring in the world.
   - Simple: The fact that something is real or is present in the world.
   - _Astronomers have found no proof of the existence of life elsewhere in the galaxy._
   - _The treaty brought a new nation into existence almost overnight._
2. Everything that exists, taken as a whole; all of reality.
   - Simple: All the things that exist.
   - _Materialist philosophers argue that existence consists only of matter and energy._
   - _For the strict empiricist, existence is whatever can be measured or observed._

## Origin

This word came through Middle English and Old French from Late Latin existentia, based on the Latin verb existō ("I am, I exist"), formed from ex ("out") plus sistere ("to set, place"), which is related to stare ("to stand"). It ultimately traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "stand."

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