substancen.

Brit.

/ˈsʌbst(ə)ns/, U.S.

/ˈsəbstəns/

Forms: Middle English substaunce (plural), Middle English substawns, Middle English–1500s substans, Middle English–1500s substauns, Middle English–1500s sustaunce, Middle English–1600s substaunce, Middle English– substance, late Middle English sobstans, late Middle English sobstons, late Middle English sopesans (perhaps transmission error), late Middle English supstance (in a late copy), late Middle English supstans; Scottish pre-1700 substans, pre-1700 substaunce, pre-1700 1700s– substance.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French substance; Latin substantia.

Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman substans, substaunce, sustaunce, sostance, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French substance, Anglo-Norman and Old French sustance (French substance ) wealth, possessions, living being (all first half of the 12th cent.), physical existence, matter, (in theology) essence (all late 12th cent.), food (first half of the 13th cent. or earlier), subsistence, means of living, being that subsists by itself (all first half of the 13th cent.), one of the qualities of a fluid (mid 13th cent.), tenor, gist (late 13th cent. or earlier), material of which a thing is made (13th cent.), majority, principal part (1394 or earlier), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin substantia quality of being real or having an actual existence, quality of having a corporeal existence, reality of a thing, actual state of affairs, underlying or essential nature, constitution, material of which a thing is made, sum or aggregate (of a person's possessions), possessions, assets, (in a calculation) basic unit of measurement, in post-classical Latin also basis, foundation (Vulgate; late 2nd or early 3rd cent. in Tertullian), thing (late 2nd cent. in Tertullian), firmness (3rd cent.), person of the Trinity (4th cent.), food (4th or 5th cent.), person (5th cent.), matter or tissue composing a bodily organ, consistency of a fluid (13th cent. in a British source), any particular kind of matter with uniform properties (1363 in Chauliac) < substant- , present participial stem of substāre to stand or be under, be present ( < sub- sub- prefix + stāre to stand: see stand v.) + -ia -ia suffix¹. Compare Old Occitan sustansa (12th cent., later also substansa, sostancia, etc.), Spanish sustancia (13th cent., also as substancia), Portuguese substância (14th cent., also as sustança), Italian sostanza (early 14th cent. as sustanzia and sustanza); also Middle Dutch, Dutch substantie, Middle Low German substancie, Middle High German substanz (German Substanz).Classical Latin (and post-classical Latin) substantia was adopted as the translation equivalent of ancient Greek οὐσία in its various senses (see ousia n.). It is also sometimes used to translate ancient Greek ὑπόστασις hypostasis n. (compare sense 3) and Hellenistic Greek ὕπαρξις hyparxis n. (compare sense 12b); compare the discussion at subsistence n. Substance is contrasted with expression , form , style , etc., in various senses. With sense 13 compare post-classical Latin supersubstantialis and the discussion at supersubstantial adj. Compare earlier sustenance n. and later subsistence n. With in substance at Phrases 1 compare Anglo-Norman and Middle French French en substance in essence, essentially (1324 or earlier), in summary (1377). With of substance at Phrases 2 compare (in slightly different sense) Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French de substance noble, important (1385, of a person; also de grande substance (1402 of a matter, or earlier)).

I. Senses relating to the nature or essence of something.

1. Theology. The divine essence or nature, esp. as that in which the three persons of the Trinity are united as one.The first occurrence of the word in sense c1350¹ is in this sense; cf. quot. c1350 at sense 7a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun]

pitheOE

i-cundeeOE

roota1325

substancec1330

juicec1380

marrowa1382

formc1385

acta1398

quidditya1398

substantial forma1398

inward1398

savourc1400

inwardc1450

allaya1456

essencya1475

being1521

bottom1531

spirit?1534

summary1548

ecceity1549

core1556

flower1568

formality1570

sum and substance1572

alloy1594

soul1598

inwardness1605

quid1606

fibre1607

selfness1611

whatness1611

essentialityc1616

propera1626

the whole shot1628

substantiala1631

esse1642

entity1643

virtuality1646

ingeny1647

quoddity1647

intimacy1648

ens1649

inbeing1661

essence1667

interiority1701

intrinsic1716

stamen1758

character1761

quidditas1782

hyparxis1792

rasa1800

bone1829

what1861

isness1865

inscape1868

as-suchness1909

Wesen1959

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > [noun] > substance of

substancec1330

essence1481

ousia1861

c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 8918 (MED) He herd angels steuen And seiȝe Fader and Sone and Holi Gost In on substaunce, in on acost.

c1350 Athanasian Creed (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) 195 He his God, of þe substaunce [L. ex substantia] of þe fader biȝeten to-fore þe worldes; & man, of þe substaunce of þe moder born in þe world.

c1350 Athanasian Creed (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) 194 Noiþer confoundand persons, ne departand þe substaunce [L. substantiam].

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9762 (MED) An-fald godd vndelt es he, And a substance wit-in þir thre.

c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 77 (MED) Þe being of þe sone is his substaunce and his godhede.

a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. Clxxxxvii The pure substaunce of god in his owne nature & deite.

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lii. 109 In Christ therefore God and man there is..a two-folde substance, not a two-folde person, because one person extinguisheth an other, whereas one nature cannot in another become extinct.

c1610–15 tr. Gregory of Nazianzus Life St. Nonna in C. Horstmann Lives Women Saints (1886) 173 [Arius] affirming the Sonne of god to be of inferiour substance to his Father.

1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. iv. 601 That Essence or Substance of the Godhead, which all the Three Persons or Hypostases agree in.

1751 W. Berriman Christian Doctr. & Duties Explained I. v. 94 Nor could we dispute the justice of such exclusion,..if there were no other Persons united with the Father, in the same Substance and Godhead.

1833 J. H. Newman Arians 4th Cent. iv. 308 The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are said to be three in substance,..one in will.

1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 12 God giveth us of His Substance, His Nature,..making us partakers of the Divine Nature.

1959 Harvard Theol. Rev. 52 11 The affirmation of the Son's origin from divine substance left no doubt in anyone's mind as to his divinity.

2011 A. E. McGrath Christian Theol. iii. xi. 285/2 The doctrine of the incarnation, especially as developed within the Alexandrian school, affirms the presence of the divine nature or substance within Christ.

2. Philosophy. A being that subsists by itself; a distinct individual entity; (also gen.) a thing, being. Cf. also thinking substance n. at thinking adj. Compounds.See also first substance n. at first adj., adv., and n.² Compounds 1b(b), primary substance n. at primary adj. and n. Compounds.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [noun] > an individual thing or person

substance1340

individuum?a1425

individa1500

suppositum1593

supposite1612

singular1615

individuality1631

the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence > substance or being

being1340

substance1340

essencea1398

materialitya1529

stuff1587

subject1590

timber1612

primary substance1774

the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence > that which has substantial existence

substance1340

substant1597

substantiality1603

subsistence1605

subsistencya1628

existency1651

subsistent1656

substander1662

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > metaphysics > ontology > [noun] > being or entity > that exists by itself

substance1340

subject1387

ens reale1565

individual1582

suppositum1593

supposite1612

substantiala1631

secondary substance1774

absolute1858

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 112 [Supersubstantial bread] þet is to zigge: þet paseþ and ouergeþ alle substances and alle ssepþes be ver.

a1425 (a1382) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Gen. vii. 4 I shal reyn vpon the erthe..and I shal do awey al substaunce [L. substantiam] the which Y made, fro the ouermost of the erthe.

c1450 (?c1400) tr. Honorius Augustodunensis Elucidarium (1909) 1 (MED) God is a goostly substaunce of..moche fairenes & swetnes.

c1475 Mankind (1969) l. 896 Be ware..Of ȝour synfull delectacion, þat grewyth ȝour gostly substans; ȝour body ys ȝour enmy; let hym not haue hys wyll.

1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Hvij^v A liuely bodie is a substaunce, Ergo a man is a substaunce.

1599 J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 22 She [sc. the soul] is a substance, and a perfect being.

c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) i. 130 God is an Essence intellectuall, A perfect Substance incorporeall.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost viii. 109 His Omnipotence, That to corporeal substances could adde Speed almost Spiritual.

1707 J. Oldfield Ess. Improvem. Reason ii. iii. 139 Minds, which are indiscerpible, are thinking Substances.

1784 H. Hamilton Attempt to prove Existence & Perfection Supreme Being v. 155 There must be in the universe not only one but many substances that are individuals, or do not consist of parts, for all conscious and thinking substances must be such.

a1831 J. Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 8/1 We refer all our states of being to a substance called self.

1868 A. Bain Mental & Moral Sci. App. 50 Mind being..expressed by the one attribute Thought (construed, however, as Thinking Substance), and..Body..summed up in the one attribute Extension (Extended Substance).

1910 T. Case in Encycl. Brit. II. 510/2 The doctrine that all things are substances which are separate individuals, stated in the Categories, is expanded in the Metaphysics.

1973 H. Skolimowski & A. Quinton tr. K. Ajdukiewicz Probl. & Theories Philos. (1975) viii. 86 Impressions are not substances which can exist self-subsistingly.

2010 P. Loptson Reality (rev. ed.) iii. 46 Persons or thinking substances are, in the Cartesian system, free, capable of free actions and choices.

†3. gen. Something that underlies or provides support; a basis, foundation; a ground, cause. Obsolete.The word is still used in Hebrews 11:1 (cf. quot. c1384) in some 20th cent. translations of the Bible, such as the New King James Version (1982).

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > basis or foundation > [noun]

ground1340

root1340

substancec1384

fundament1395

foundationc1400

groundment?a1412

footing1440

anvila1450

bottom ground1557

groundwork1557

foot1559

platform1568

subsistence1586

subject matter1600

ground-colour1614

basisa1616

substratum1631

basement1637

bottoma1639

fonda1650

fibre1656

fund1671

fundamen1677

substruction1765

starting ground1802

fundus1839

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Heb. xi. 1 Feith is the substaunce [L. substantia; Gk. ὑπόστασις] of thingis to be hopid.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 3889 Ther is nothing Which mai be betre aboute a king, Than conseil, which is the substance Of all a kinges governance.

?c1450 (a1388) tr. Richard of Wallingford Exafrenon (Digby) in J. D. North Wks. Richard of Wallingford (1976) I. 183 Thai ar callid 5 dignytes..And this the substance of domes, for upon the dignytes hanghtes moste fors and strenghtes of them abowte the which philosofris travelis besily.

a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 67 Þerfor feythe is callid substaunce, that is, the foundement of thinges esperable.

1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. i. iv. sig. B.vii^v/2 The substance or hypostasis is the foundation, or the vnmoueable proppe, which vpholdeth vs.

1595 W. S. Lamentable Trag. Locrine i. i. 70 A greater care torments my verie bones, And makes me tremble at the thought of it, And in you, Lordings, doth the substance lie.

1659 S. Clarke Medulla Theologiæ xvii. 172 The Covenant is the foundation or substance of Baptisme.

a. Philosophy. The essential element underlying phenomena, which is subject to modifications; the permanent substratum of things; that in which properties or attributes inhere. Also: logical subject (see quot. 1872). Frequently contrasted with accident.See also general substance n. at general adj. and n. Compounds 2, second substance n. at second adj. and n.² Compounds 1, secondary substance at secondary adj. 3f.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > metaphysics > [noun] > matter or substance

substancea1398

first substance1551

subject1590

hypostasis1605

byss1649

body1651

substratum1651

support1660

general substance1697

supporter1697

substrate1730

object-subject1867

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxvi. 1355 Whanne tweyne accidentis beþ in oon substaunce and subiecte [L. in uno subiecto], as colour and savour.

1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Cij The feare of God is an Accident, the soule is a Substaunce.

1606 L. Bryskett Disc. Ciuill Life 116 The substance of euery thing is so called, by reason that it is subiect vnto accidents; neither can there be any accident (to which it is proper to be in some subiect) but it must fall into some substance.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xxiii. 136 The Idea..to which we give the general name Substance, being nothing, but the supposed..support of those Qualities..which we imagine cannot subsist, sine re substante, without something to support them.

1762 Ld. Kames Elements Crit. III. App. 376 A thing with respect to its qualities is termed a subject, or substratum... The..substratum of visible qualities, is termed substance.

1781 W. Cowper Anti-Thelypthora 42 Substances and modes of ev'ry kind.

1838 F. Haywood tr. I. Kant Critick Pure Reason i. 174 The determinations of a substance, which are nothing else but its particular modes of existing, are termed accidents.

1872 J. P. Mahaffy Kant's Crit. Philos. I. 268 Thus the pure Category of substance is that which can only be subject—and not predicate.

1902 Philos. Rev. 11 18 I may say states of consciousness cannot be conceived without an ego that has them. Then that ego is their substance.

1963 D. M. Matheson tr. F. Schuon Understanding Islam iv. 107 They take accidents for reality and deny Substance by describing it as unreal or abstract.

2000 A. Hastings in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 714/2 Everything apparent to the sense is an ‘accident’ but beneath accidents lies the substance of a thing, that which it ‘really is’.

b. In extended and allusive uses. Now rare.

ΚΠ

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale (Ellesmere) (1872) C. §4. l. 539 Thise Cookes, how they stampe, and streyne and grynde And turnen substaunce in-to Accident.

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iv. l. 1505 Þenk þat folye is whan man may chese For accident is [= his] substaunce ay to lese.

1493 Chastysing Goddes Chyldern (de Worde) xxv. sig. Fv/2 It is not good to destreye the more for the lesse, ne the substaunce for the accydent.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 570 The Capteynes there, myndyng not to lease the more for the lesse, nor the substance for the accident.

1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man vi. 568 Euill is no substance nor nature, but an accident that commeth to the substance.

1654 Z. Coke Art of Logick 189 The causes are found out and put in substances, in respect of the Essence, Matter, and Form.

1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 28 Not changing the substance, but regulating the mode.

1983 W. Weaver tr. U. Eco Name of Rose (1984) 254 You will see that the picture of our stranger is drawn very clearly and that all these properties, or accidents, are suited to a substance that I would have no fear in denning as our cellarer, Remigio of Varagine.

c. Theology. With reference to the doctrine of the Real Presence in the Eucharist. Cf. presence n. 1c, transubstantiation n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > sacrament > communion > eucharistic doctrines > presence of Christ in communion > [noun] > actual

substancec1430

real presence1542

c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 321 The doctryne of holy chirche is that in this blessid sacrament..the..accidentes of breed and wyn been there..with oute the substaunce of breed and wyne.

1546 S. Gardiner Detection Deuils Sophistrie 14 b The substaunce of bred, beyng conuerted into the naturall bodely substaunce of our sauioure [printed souioure] Christe.

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxvii. 178 How the wordes of Christ commaunding vs to eate must needes importe that as hee hath coupled the substance of his fleshe and the substance of bread together, so we together should receiue both.

1651 C. Cartwright Certamen Religiosum i. 131 It doth argue an extraordinary power in Christ to give his Flesh to eat, though there be no turning of the substance of the Bread in the Sacrament into the substance of his Flesh.

1701 T. Bennet Confut. Popery ii. vii. 134 The Doctrine of Transubstantiation supposes, that the whole substance of the Bread is turn'd into the Body.

1748 G. Smith Britons & Saxons not converted to Popery 321 He [sc. St Gregory] was so far from teaching a Change of Substance in the Holy Eucharist, that he plainly asserts the contrary.

1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. vi. ii. 21 The substance of the bread and wine was actually annihilated—nothing existed but the body and blood of the Redeemer.

1920 P. Smith Age of Reformation ii. 108 The substance of the bread turned into the substance of the body.

2010 G. R. Allison in T. R. Schreiner & M. R. Crawford Lord's Supper vi. 169 Aquinas..explained how conversion of one substance into another..can take place by divine power with the Eucharist. Though the substance changes, the accidents of the bread and wine remain.

†5. Substantial existence; substantiality, being. Occasionally as a count noun. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence

substancec1430

subsistence?a1475

substantialityc1480

subsisting1578

body1647

substantivity1851

c1430 (c1370) G. Chaucer A.B.C. (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1878) l. 87 As I seyde erst þou ground of substaunce Contynewe on vs þyme petous eyne clere.

1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde ii. x. f. 87 To gyue substance to priuation, (that is) beinge to noo beinge.

1628 T. Spencer Art of Logick 17 A first, or individuall substance, may be taken two wayes: one way, for every thing that hath a substance; another way, for a compleat subsistency, in the nature of any species.

a. Esp. in legal use: that which constitutes the essential part or aspect of something. Cf. substantial adj. 9b.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > jurisprudence > [noun] > the essential merits of a matter

substance?a1450

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] > an essential quality or principle

substance?a1450

essentiality1649

principle1662

hypostasis1678

internal1697

?a1450 in C. von Nolcken Middle Eng. Transl. Rosarium Theol. (1979) 71 Off þe substance of þis sacrament bene 4 þingz: þe 1 is þat he þat consecrateþ þe eukaristie be ane prest.

1592 W. West Symbolæogr.: 1st Pt. i. §22 The substance of this contract consisteth in the thing solde, and in the price thereof.

a1623 H. Swinburne Treat. Spousals (1686) 141 Resisting the Substance of Matrimony, it overthroweth the Contract.

a1626 F. Bacon Elements Common Lawes (1630) 4 The intention is matter of substance.

1685 Bp. S. Parker Relig. & Loyalty: 2nd Pt. xxxii. 561 This is the substance of the learned Advocates Plea.

1753 A. McDouall Inst. Laws Scotl. III. Index 9/2 The substance of the contract could not, by the civil law, be referred to one of the parties, but only its incidents.

1839 J. Bouvier Law Dict. U.S.A. II. 418/1 Substance, evidence. That which is essential; it is used in opposition to form.

1879 Central Law Jrnl. 9 May 374/1 Matters which do not go to the substance of the contract..do not authorize an abandonment of the contract.

1922 W. M. Lile Outl. Equity Pleading (ed. 2) xiv. 102 There are many other objections besides those going to the substance of the case.

1997 Internat. Law Rep. 105 284 Since the view I take crosses the jurisdictional threshold into the substance of the case, my judicial duty compels me to address these questions.

b. gen. That which gives a thing its character; that which constitutes the essence of a thing; the essential part, essence.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] > essence or essential constituent

substancec1480

basea1550

marrowbone1554

ground1580

subsistence1581

basis1601

essence1656

body1664

hardpan1842

c1480 (a1400) St. Peter 403 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 19 In þis symon dwellis ay twa substance, þat is to wyt, of devel and man, to-gyddir knete.

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Gouernaunce of Princis (1993) ii. 64 And the substaunce of largess js—to nocht remember apon the gyftis gevin.

1539 C. Tunstall Serm. Palme Sondaye sig. Aiii He was in ful substance, in full essence, in ful glorie, in eternitie, equal with his father.

c1585 R. Browne Answere to Cartwright 55 To be able to teache is not of the substance of a minister, but onely of a lawful minister.

1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 96 Phi. What doe you call keeping the substance of a note? Ma. When in breaking it, you sing either your first or last note in the same key wherin it standeth, or in his eight.

1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum 94 The essences, or substances of things are not here meant.

1694 W. Sherlock Def. Notion of Trinity in Unity 88 The Dean does not pretend to know any thing of the Substance of a Mind, much less of God, who is an infinite Mind.

1716 Alectruonophonia 13 The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper may in like manner be call'd a part of Divine Worship, in respect of the whole Sum and Substance of Religion.

1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 220 Miserable bigots..who hate sects and parties different from their own, more than they love the substance of religion.

1856 N. Brit. Rev. 26 41 Modern thought, in its substance, is a congeries of all those refined theistic speculations, of all those baffled aspirations, of all those deep and distracting surmises.

1869 J. B. Mozley Univ. Serm. (1876) ii. 39 It is sufficiently clear that these are not the substance of the character.

1901 Arena Sept. 272 Popular recall, full education, and all the measures needful to protect the form and substance of democracy.

2007 F. T. Noonan Road to Jerusalem 283 The substance of the story had to do with the bishop's mistreatment on his way home at the hands of Adenese.

II. Senses relating principally to physical matter.

a. That of which a physical thing consists; the essential (esp. solid) material of which a body is formed and in virtue of which it possesses certain properties.In quot. a1393: the material of which God shaped created things.fifth substance: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > bodily substance > [noun]

loamc725

flesh and fellc1000

fleshtimbera1225

flesh and blooda1340

powderc1350

substancec1350

claya1400

paste1645

corporeity1647

muscle1819

tissue1834

the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > material

matter1340

substancec1350

subject matter1535

making1623

material1624

substratuma1676

materiality1811

hypostase1867

materiature1881

c1350 Athanasian Creed (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) 195 He his God, of þe substaunce of þe fader biȝeten to-fore þe worldes; & man, of þe substaunce [L. ex substantia] of þe moder born in þe world.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 211 The hihe pourveance Tho hadde under his ordinance A gret substance, a gret matiere, Of which he wolde..These othre thinges make and forme.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vi. xx. 321 Mete is substaunce þat is abil to be iturned into þe substaunce of þe body þat is ifed.

?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 159, in Middle Eng. Dict. at Substaunce Repercussiue medicynes..maie be made of enye of þes aforseide, & alle þe substaunce of eche bi hym selfe oþer of hem alle to gidere.

c1484 (a1475) J. de Caritate tr. Secreta Secret. (Takamiya) (1977) 146 Metys..and drynkys..with sqwyche as þe substauns of hys body hath most be refreschyd with.

1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 43 The matter and substaunce of mans body.

1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 3 b Swords of conuenient length, forme and substance, haue been in all ages esteemed by all warlike Nations.

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xliv. sig. D2 If the dull substance of my flesh were thought, Iniurious distance should not stop my way.

1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. iv. 73 Stalk..of a woody substance... Head or spike..having a soft downy substance.

1719 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher II. xix. iv. 463 The said Earth being dried..had not lost above two Ounces of its Substance.

1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 4 It became necessary..to appropriate to individuals not the immediate use only, but the very substance of the thing to be used.

1829 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Plants 1023 Epiphyllous scattered globular or subdepressed smooth pale at length black, Substance very corneous.

1846 W. S. Landor Citation & Exam. Shakespere in Wks. II. 265 Give a countryman a plough of silver and he will plough with it all the season, and never know its substance.

1859 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám lxi. 13 Surely not in vain My Substance from the common Earth was ta'en.

1927 F. Balfour-Browne Insects iv. 101 The nucleus of the spermatozoon enters and fuses with that of the egg, which, however, first throws off some of its substance, which forms the ‘polar bodies’.

1988 A. C. Clarke 2061 96 As the comet blasted its substance away into space at each perihelion passage, its mass distribution constantly altered.

b. That of which something incorporeal is considered to consist.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence > that by which anything subsists

substancec1440

essencec1585

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ii. ii. 59 An aungel is substancia intellectual, alwey meuable, fre and bodiles, seruinge God by grace and not bi kynde.]

c1440 (?a1396) W. Hilton in G. G. Perry Eng. Prose Treat. (1921) 17 By abowndance of charite þat es in þe substance of the saule.

c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 768 Euery spech that ys yspoken..In his substaunce ys but aire.

a1500 (a1475) G. Ashby Dicta Philosophorum l. 234 in Poems (1899) 53 A kynge sholde take of his olde acquaintance, His familier seruauntes vertuous,..of Substance, Wele disposed, trewe, not malicious.

1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. iv. 99 Dreames..Begot of nothing but vaine fantasie, Which is as thinne a substance as the aire.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 585 Hard thou knowst it to exclude Spiritual substance with corporeal barr.

1682 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) II. 311 I..am sorry that my Sonne should Be composed of such substance that nothing can shape Him for a Schollar.

1740 G. Cheyne Ess. Regimen 35 That spiritual Substance was analogous to Matter infinitely rarefied, refin'd or sublim'd.

1796 Ess. by Soc. of Gentlemen Exeter 105 It is probable that the Cadomim made no essential alteration in the substance of the language.

1862 H. Spencer First Princ. i. iii. §20. 63 When, instead of the extent of consciousness, we consider its substance.

1907 L. G. Beekman Outl. Swedenborg's Cosmol. i. 12 The image which manifests the inmost action of love, of love as a substance.

1995 M. Gieri Contemp. Ital. Filmmaking: Strategies of Subversion 157 Laughter, then, is a flimsy substance.

a. Any particular kind of matter with uniform properties (without regard to something that it is part of, and so distinguished from sense 7a). As a count and mass noun.food substance: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > matter or corporeal substance > a kind of matter

thingOE

matter1340

substancea1393

corsec1420

gear1489

massa1550

quality1583

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 141 Of man, of beste,..Of fissch, of foughl, of everychon That ben of bodely substance.

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 22 Som oþer strange substance [L. substantiam] like vnto hony.

?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens ii. sig. Eiv [The nose] is of thre substaunces, that is to wyt of substaunce flesshely, bony, and cartilagynous.

1597 King James VI & I Daemonologie (1924) 47 The Deuilles parte therein, is but the naked carrying or expelling of that substance [sc. semen].

1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. xiv. 123 Our designe requireth more maniable substances.

1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. x. 259 Grain or some Vegetable, baked in a drier substance without any considerable mixture.

1736 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Spiders 73 The thorax seem'd cas'd with another kind of substance than the belly.

1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth I. 75 This variety of substances, which compose the internal parts of our globe.

1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. v. 65 That sort of substance which we call animal substance, as flesh, bone,..cartilage, &c.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 91 When a varnish of any kind is laid over a substance, to prevent it from absorbing water, some allowance should be made for such addition.

1839 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. (ed. 3) 472 Corky..; having the texture of the substance called cork.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. v. 250 Thus, from the mixture of two perfectly transparent substances, we obtain an opaque one.

1920 Jrnl. Amer. Inst. Criminal Law & Criminol. 11 142 A finger-print is merely the marks upon a substance made by the pressure of the finger.

1998 H. H. Guyer Industr. Processes & Waste Stream Managem. iv. 113/1 The containment vessel must be made of a substance that is transparent to UV light wavelengths.

2003 MARPOL: How to do It (Internat. Maritime Organization) (rev. ed.) v. xix. 95 While these technologies can locate a potential oil or chemical slick, they cannot positively identify the type of substance floating on the water.

†b. A piece or mass of a particular kind of matter; a whole object made more or less uniformly of some kind of matter. Obsolete.Possible later examples should probably be interpreted in sense 8a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > thing or material object

thingOE

bodya1398

objecta1398

substance1525

cheat1567

solidity1604

article1618

material objecta1651

res extensa1652

extensum1678

businessa1684

animal1729

materiate1755

affair1763

thingy1787

fellow1816

concern1824

jockey1827

toy1895

yoke1910

doojigger1927

bitch1951

1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. xv. sig. D.i^v/1 Whan ye haue dressyd a wounde w^t the drynke [= drying] substances afore namyd, & that it wyll nat staunche, than it is necessarie for to remedy the cowrs of y^e bledynge [no direct equivalent in Ger. original].

c1595 Capt. Wyatt in G. F. Warner Voy. R. Dudley to W. Indies (1899) 56 In the night a substance of fyre resemblinge the shape of a fierie Dragon should fall into our sailes and theare remaine some quarter of an ower.

1681 P. Bellon tr. F. de Monginot New Myst. Physick Introd. 32 Set the Water in a cold place, in a Glass Body, within eight Days, you will find a congealed Substance in the Bottom of the Vessel.

1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at White-Honey-Charge Continue boiling till the Roots and Herbs be reduced to a Mash..throwing away the gross Substance.

1799 H. Lee Canterbury Tales (ed. 2) I. 351 Throwing from him, without examination, some hard substance that incommoded him.

c. spec. A kind of matter of a definite chemical composition, as a compound or element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > [noun]

thingeOE

substancea1550

body1594

magnesium chloride1866

magnesium sulphate1871

a1550 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Bodl. e Mus.) f. 63^v That oiles substaunce..Ramond lully did call his basilicke, of which he never made so playne detectione.

1582 S. Batman Vppon Bartholome, De Proprietatibus Rerum xv. clxi. f. 242^v/1 And there are solempne mountaines, in the which stones be digged, the which being stronglye resolued by fire, turne into the substance of brasse.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Nitre Niter; a (Salt-resembling) substance of colour light-ruddie, or white.

a1696 R. Plot in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) (1698) 20 183 The Mineral Substance, called, Black Lead..found only at Keswick in Cumberland, and there called, Wadt, or Kellow.

1718 J. Quincy Pharmacopœia Officinalis 8 The last is what is forced from Vinegar, Vitriol, and such like acid Substances.

1784 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 74 141 There is the utmost reason to think, that dephlogisticated and phlogisticated air..are quite distinct substances, and not differing only in their degree of phlogistication.

1843 J. A. Smith Productive Farming (ed. 2) 11 The number of simple, or elementary substances, at present known..is fifty-four.

1864 Intell. Obs. No. 32. 93 A new substance..to which I gave the name Santoneine.

1954 Adv. in Carbohydrate Chem. 9 186 This substance, called Indian Yellow, was once an important pigment.

1984 A. C. Duxbury & A. Duxbury Introd. World's Oceans iv. 134 Water was not a simple element but a substance made up of hydrogen and oxygen.

2009 P. Manning Chem. Bonds 49 The formation of ions explains how a poisonous gas can combine with a highly reactive metal to form the white, crystalline substance called table salt.

d. An intoxicant or stimulant, such as a drug, alcohol, etc., which may be abused or used recreationally. Cf. Compounds 1.Recorded earliest in substance abuse n. at Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun]

drug1668

stuporific1853

candy1925

spike1934

shit1946

juice1957

street drug1967

substance1967

dadah1980

product1983

1967 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 12 Apr. 14/2 The incidence of ‘substance abuse’ in Long Beach schools is surprisingly small.

1974 Bennington (Vermont) Banner 5 June 4/7 Isn't it time we stopped the wild accusations and begin to examine the reasons why our culture uses so many substances?

1984 Jrnl. Substance Abuse Treatm. 2 i. 5/1 Research has demonstrated the presence of neuropsychological impairment in chronic abusers of CNS depressants, including alcohol, as well as opiates and possibly cocaine, especially when such substances are combined in a polydrug pattern of abuse.

1995 Independent 8 Feb. 5/2 The picture of almost universal drug abuse within Styal is unprecedented in a jail—although the general availability of just about every kind of substance throughout the prison system has been a concern for years.

2004 R. Daniels Nursing Fund. xxx. 742/1 The nurse who is abusing substances often takes elaborate steps to hide it in the workplace.

a. The matter of which (a part of) the body of an animal is composed; esp. solid tissue.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > substance > [noun]

substancea1398

tissue1834

biomaterial1960

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. v. 178 This humour cristallinus [of the eye]... is round in schap and substaunce [L. substantia].

c1425 tr. J. Arderne Treat. Fistula (Sloane 6) (1910) 34 Þe quitour, þerfore, bigynne to lessen somwhat, and the bolnyng somwhat to cese, and þe colour and þe substaunce of þe skynne for to turne to his ovne naturel habitude.

c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 34^v (MED) Þe herte haþ oonly blood in his substaunce.

1535 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (rev. ed.) v. xiv. f. xli^v/2 For yf they [sc. the chekes] ben moche roddy and medled with temperat whitenes, and not fat in substance but meanly flesshy: they token hote and moyst complexion.

1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. N.j Then come we to Longaon, otherwise called, The tayle gutte, whose substance is panniculer, as of al the other bowels.

1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια iv. xiii. 231 The branches of this Hypogastricall veine being entred the substance of the wombe do mingle themselues with the vpper braunches proceeding from the spermaticall.

1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) ii. ix. 117 The Vena arteriosa..is just like the Aorta in substance, largeness, neighbourhood, and Valves.

1724 R. Blackmore Treat. Consumptions 9 An extraordinary Discharge of Flegmatick Matter,..while..the Substance of the Lungs remains sound.

1792 T. Kirkland Comm. Apoplectic & Paralytic Affections 175 We will beg leave to inquire what end is answered by making the paralytic part red in this complaint, when owing to a defect in the substance of the brain.

1804 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. 178 Blood was discharged mixed with detached pieces of the substance of the brain.

1845 G. Budd On Dis. Liver 347 Irregular dilatation of the sac, so as to form additional pouches in the substance of the liver.

1922 Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp. 33 51/2 Old ulcerative processes had led to loss of substance of the cranial and other bones.

1949 H. W. C. Vines Green's Man. Pathol. (ed. 17) xxxviii. 1095 Hæmorrhage into the substance of the cord is..usually due to injury.

2008 Med. Knowl. Self-assessment Program Students 4 (American College Physicians) 131/2 CT does not adequately show the substance of the spinal cord.

b. Originally: flesh, esp. as that which is lost in a large or gaping wound. In later use also: muscle (and occasionally also bone), as providing strength to the body, esp. in a horse or dog.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > bodily substance > flesh > [noun]

fleshc1000

lirec1000

quick flesha1382

pulp?a1425

substance?a1425

meat1829

beef1851

?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 93, in Middle Eng. Dict. at Substaunce Þer ben oþire woundes wiþ deperdicioun of substaunce in þe whiche þer is superflue fleische schewynge wiþ oute and excedinge.

c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 125 (MED) In þe cure of a wounde wiþ lost of substaunce, þe bisynesse is diuers aftir þe diuersite of her makynge.

1565 J. Hall Hist. Expost. in tr. Lanfranc Most Excellent Woorke Chirurg. 61 Medicines Conglutinatyues, are suche as gather together the lippes of woundes, wherin ther is no losse of substance.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 657 Thir armor help'd thir harm, crush't in and brus'd Into thir substance pent.

1695 W. W. Novum Lumen Chirurgicum Extinctum 23 Any Flesh-Wound where there is considerable loss of Substance.

1750 Lady Luxborough Let. 13 May in Lett. to W. Shenstone (1775) 204 My plaisters are already reduced..to two only: one over my eye,..and one just above my knee, where the loss of substance (as they call it) makes it longer in curing.

1831 W. Youatt Horse iv. 36 A three-fourth, or thoroughbred horse of sufficient substance and height.

1862 Retrospect Pract. Med. & Surg. 44 238 In a large gap, where the loss of substance is to be measured by square inches, no person could expect union by simply paring the edges and drawing them together by the interrupted suture.

1894 Nature's Method in Evol. Life iii. 45 The nervous system becomes highly strung,..and the muscles deficient in size, with a general want of what is known as ‘substance’.

1910 Dog Fancier 19 40/3 (advt.) A direct grandson of the world famous sire and winner,..and has all of his characteristics with greater substance.

1953 Nash's Surg. Physiol. (rev. ed.) v. 134 Healing by secondary intention appears in those wounds in which there is an actual loss of substance.

1970 A. C. L. Hardman Amateur Horse Breeder i. 21 The mare in turn can, if she has substance herself, help to produce the bone.

2008 R. F. Burton Biomedical Calculations 162 It is well known that astronauts on the moon have reduced weights–without loss of substance.

c. Anatomy and Zoology. With distinguishing word: tissue or non-cellular material of a particular kind.colloid, lung, nerve substance, etc.: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > bodily substance > [noun] > type of

substance1578

1578 J. Banister Hist. Man f. 94^v Onely a Cartilaginous substaunce at the roote of the great arterie, towardes the arteriall veyne is sene.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 192 The Cartilaginous Substance of the Ribs,..by this means was crowded in, that it made a notable Cavity.

1753 Philos. Trans. 1751–2 (Royal Soc.) 47 261 The semilunar cartilages, mucilaginous glands, and the adipose substance,..were all moisten'd with sinophia.

1815 J. Gordon Syst. Human Anat. I. 40 Adipose substance.

1853 R. Dunglison Med. Lexicon (ed. 9) Schwann, White Substance of.

1870 W. S. Kent in Ann. Nat. Hist. Mar. 217 The sarcodic substance lining all the interstitial cavities of the sponge.

1922 W. Libby Hist. Med. 269 In considering..the brain, we must take into account not only its nervous tissue, but its membranes, vessels, and interstitial substance.

2010 R. M. Devine in A. P. Zbar & S. D. Wexner Coloproctology 86/2 Nishie et al. described the use of..MR imaging to demonstrate the presence of keratinous substance within a dermoid cyst.

d. Botany. The matter of which (a part of) a plant or fungus is composed; (in later use also) the tissue providing structure and bulk to the plant or a part of it (the quantity of which is frequently regarded as a measure of vigour or quality).

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > part of plant > cell or aggregate tissue > [noun] > tissue

substance1650

tissue1837

syntagma1882

tagma1885

1650 E. Williams Virginia's Discov. Silke-worms 5 Yet to prevent the too grosse substance of the leafe after the tree by the advantage of a rich nourishment.

1777 S. Robson Brit. Flora 15 Bullate, the substance of the leaf rising high above the veins, so as to appear like little blisters.

1793 T. Martyn Lang. Bot. sig. T2^v The substance of a vegetable consists of the Epidermis or Cuticle, covering the Cortex or Outer Bark.

1876 Trans. & Proc. Bot. Soc. Pennsylvania 1 339 These suspensory strands are of the same material and in every way identical with the substance of the axial filament.

1893 Garden & Forest 28 June 278/2 Mr Fay's Roses were of fair size,..well-colored, with good foliage, but, as a rule, lacked substance.

1902 Jrnl. Hort., Cottage Gardener & Home Farmer 11 Dec. 536/1 Well-ripened plants have plenty of substance in them, and can easily keep going.

1930 Misc. Publ. No. 109 (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 8 A part of the water is then used in producing the increasing substance of the tree.

1971 Times 21 Apr. 6/7 A shapely white trumpet daffodil is ‘Cortina’, with a broadly crimped and rolled back trumpet of good substance.

2010 K. G. Shadrack & M. Shadrack Bk. of Little Hostas iv. 151 (caption) The very thick substance of the leaves allows this plant to take more sun than expected.

†10. The consistency of a fluid; viscosity. Usually with of. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > liquid > [noun] > qualities of liquid > consistency

substancea1398

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. xlii. 1305 Hoot and druye complexioun..wiþ mene substaunce [L. substantia] maketh salt sauour. And hoote and druye..wiþ þikke substaunce [L. substantia] makeþ bitter.

?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 30^v (MED) Fleume..in þe substance of it..is made aquous.

a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 166 Take he[de] on watyr, and on yse, and on snow; how þay ben ych on dyverse in substance, and ȝet þay ben but watyr.

?1541 R. Copland Maner to Examyne Lazares in Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens sig. Rj Whan it [sc. blood] is drawen, consydre the substance and the colour yf it be so as is abouesayde.

1692 W. Salmon Medicina Practica 36/1 By reason they are of thin Substance and parts, their heat is quickly discussed.

1738 G. Smith tr. Laboratory iv. 120 To the Substance of a thin Paste.

11. figurative.

a. Something that is solid or real (as opposed to and often contrasted with appearance, †semblance, shadow, etc.). Also: reality. Cf. semblance n. 4a, shadow n. 6a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > reality or real existence or actuality > [noun] > the reality as opposed to what is apparent

bodyc1384

truth1531

substance1533

person1548

effect1592

hypostasis1605

reality1620

reala1637

essence1646

hypostase1867

1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani xxxi. sig. Q.viij^v This lyfe vanissheth awaye faster than smoke, lesse of substaunce than a shadowe [L. umbra inanior].

1576 A. Fleming tr. Hippocrates in Panoplie Epist. 281 The ignoraunce of the world is grosse & palpable: for, touching Nature their skill is but superficiall, and like a shadowe destitute of substaunce.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. ix. sig. V3 Full liuely is the semblaunt, though the substance dead.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus (1623) iii. ii. 79 He takes false shadowes, for true substances.

1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxxi. 186 A Common-wealth, without Soveraign Power, is but a word, without substance.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 529 With high words, that bore Semblance of worth not substance .

1716 S. W. in Nelson's Pract. True Devot. (1784) p. xvi Taught how to take the mystic Bread and Wine, T'adore the Substance, nor neglect the Sign.

1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 527 The poet's hand, Imparting substance to an empty shade, Impos'd a gay delirium for a truth.

1836 F. Marryat Japhet III. ix. 100 I would not lose the substance by running after shadows.

1856 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire V. l. 580 A mere honorary title, and only a presage of the substance that was to follow.

1914 Daily Chron. 28 July 6/3 The Austro-Hungarian communiqué..argues..that Servia conceded the shadows and withheld the substance.

2005 S. Rushdie Shalimar the Clown (2006) 178 They immediately put on their gravest expressions with every appearance (and none of the substance) of obedience.

b. Westminster School. An older pupil who is charged with the responsibility for ensuring that a new boy (his ‘shadow’: see shadow n. 8c) learns the conduct and duties expected of him within the school. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > pupil at specific school > at other specific schools

substance1811

Grecian1813

gown-boy1853

Rug1856

1811 Scourge 1 Nov. 419 The main principle of the new system might have been discovered in the practice of the Hindoos. More than the use of monitors among ourselves, or the custom of some of our public schools, of placing a new-comer under the care of a substance.

1845 College & T.B. Life at Westm. 25 Oct. After my first week at School, I started altogether on my own account, my Substance then having nothing more to do with me.

1899 W. K. R. Bedford Outcomes Old Oxf. 85 Every neophyte was consigned to the tutelage of some boy already in the school... The shortcomings of the shadow, or tyro, were credited to the preceptor, or substance, and visited with penalties upon the latter.

1902 R. Airy Westminster v. 89 In their second year they..are expected to show the new juniors their way about and teach them their several duties. This custom finds a counterpart in the ‘substance’ and ‘shadow’, of the boarding-houses.

2005 M. Kustow Peter Brook i. i. 11 When he [sc. Brook] first arrived at Westminster School, he recalls being accosted by an archetypal master-race prefect called ‘Brown’..who pronounced the Pirandellian sentence, ‘You're my shadow; I'm your substance.’

III. Senses relating to quantity, possessions, wealth.

12.

a. One's material possessions or the value assigned to these; goods, estate; means, wealth. Now somewhat archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > a person's collective property or substance

thingOE

chattela1240

cattlec1275

i-wonc1275

moneya1325

tilea1325

statec1330

thrifta1350

substancea1382

chevance1477

graith?a1513

estate1563

wortha1586

thrive1592

fortune1596

store1600

boodle1699

circumstancea1704

the mind > possession > wealth > wealth or riches > [noun]

wealc888

ednessa1200

richessea1200

richdomc1225

richesses?c1225

wealtha1275

richesc1275

winc1275

warison1297

wonea1300

merchandisec1300

aver1330

richesc1330

substancea1382

abundancec1384

suffisance1390

talenta1400

pelf?a1505

opulence?1518

wealthsa1533

money bag1562

capital1569

opulency1584

affluency1591

affluence1593

exuberance1675

nabobism1784

money1848

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. iii. 9 Honoure the Lord of thi substaunce [L. de tua substantia].

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xv. 13 He wastide his substaunce [L. substantiam; Gk. οὐσίαν] in lyuynge leccherously.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 9537, l. 9538 Of his substance he gaf ilk-an, And ilk-an gaf he substance an.

c1460 (a1449) J. Lydgate Legend St. Austin (Harl. 2255) l. 8 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 193 Abel..Gaff God his part, tenthe of his substaunce.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job i. 3 His substaunce was vij. M. shepe, iij. M. camels, v. C. yock of oxen, v. C. she asses, and a very greate housholde.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) i. i. 23 Thy substance, valued at the highest rate, Cannot amount vnto a hundred Markes.

1685 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 484 Innumerable persons of the greatest birth, & riches, leaving all their earthly substance.

1744 S. Fielding Adventures David Simple I. i. viii. 56 It was possible for one Man to be continually rejoicing.., and declaring he had the best of Wives, altho' she spent all his Substance.

1798 W. Wordsworth Female Vagrant in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 72 Till all his [sc. my father's] substance fell into decay.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 156 A fortune raised out of the substance of the ruined defenders of the throne.

1908 Scott. Hist. Rev. Apr. 270 Nor did the country towns boast any brightly dressed shop windows to lure the domestic of those days to waste her substance on fripperies.

2007 J. McCourt Now Voyagers iii. 95 Prosper Swithin had only very recently come through..a more difficult time,..his substance wasted on fairs and fiestas, jigs and reels.

†b. As a count noun: an amount of wealth, a fortune; (in plural) riches, possessions. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun]

goodeOE

auchtOE

havingc1350

facultya1382

substancea1382

propertya1393

haviourc1400

suffisantee1436

aversc1440

propriety1442

livinga1450

goodess1523

gear1535

prog1727

the mind > possession > wealth > wealth or riches > [noun] > an amount of wealth

substancea1382

fortune1596

pile1836

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xli. 1 Hauende pes in his substaunces [a1425 L.V. richessis; L. substantiis].

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Heb. x. 34 Knowynge ȝou for to haue a betere and dwelling substaunce [L. substantiam; Gk. ὕπαρξιν].

1487 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1487 §18. m. 10 Wymmen..havyng substaunces, somme in goodes moveable and somme in landes and tenements.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries Pref. sig. Av^v Whose brother for the education of youth in true Religion and learning, imploied a wonderful substaunce.

1617 B. Rich Irish Hubbub 47 It is a small substance, that cannot afford some pittance [for the poor].

1688 P. Rycaut tr. G. de la Vega Royal Comm. Peru (new ed.) vi. ii. 187 The Indians..thought it a Prophanation to have that Wealth and Substances which was Dedicated to their Kings, to be converted to the common benefit and use of Strangers.

1733 J. Tull Horse-hoing Husbandry xi. 65 A most sincere Honest Yeoman..from a small Substance he began with, left behind him about Forty Thousand Pound.

†13.

a. Maintenance, (means of) subsistence. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > [noun]

victualsa1375

substancec1384

repasta1393

kitchenc1400

tablec1405

stuff1436

acates1465

acatry1522

victualling1532

provision1555

achates1570

plate1577

avitaile1592

support1599

horn and corn1633

subsistence1640

cribbing1652

purvey1678

commissariat1811

ration1814

commissary1883

the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > provision of means of support or livelihood

substancec1384

maintenance1389

sustenance1389

sustentation1389

sustaining1395

findingc1400

uphold1439

retainment1449

exhibition?a1475

entertainment?c1475

upholdingc1480

entertaininga1492

sustenation1496

support1561

alimentation1590

alimony1622

enablement1626

subsisting1698

keep1801

life support1852

palimony1977

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. vi. 11 Ȝif to vs this day oure breed ouer other substaunce [L. supersubstantialem; Gk. τὸν ἐπιούσιον].

c1400 Comm. on Canticles (Bodl. 288) in T. Arnold Sel. Eng. Wks. J. Wyclif (1871) III. 67 (MED) Sees gendren manye fischis to substaunce of mankynde.

1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) i. iii. sig. c.i ^v It is not gyuen to hym for substaunce or refeccyon [printed reteccyon] corporell.

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. clxx. f. lxxxxvii All thynges that before tyme were gyuen to Abbeys were than more wasted in Glotony and outrage of owners Than in Substaunce and ayde of nedy men.

b. A supply or provision of (something). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > that which is supplied > a supply

purveyance1340

substance?c1425

providencec1450

provisionc1451

furnish1500

supply1567

reply?1592

purvey?1615

product1647

sorting1785

?c1425 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Royal 17 D.vi) (1860) 176 Yf a man, in tyme of suche a nede, Of his goode yeue you a gode substaunce.

c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 1560 Iason weddit was Vn-to this queen & tok of it substaunce What so hym leste onto his puruyaunce.

1515 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 79 The said Towne [was] then in better substaunce of goodis good ordre and rule then it is nowe.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Eccl. ii. 7 As for catell and shepe, I had more substaunce of them, then all they y^t were before me.

14.

a. The greater number or part, the majority, mass, or bulk of (people, things, etc.). See also sum and substance at Phrases 3. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [noun] > greater number, majority

moeOE

unfewc1175

most?a1400

most forcea1400

substancea1413

overmatch1542

flush1592

the (great, vast) mass of1604

the millions1604

stream1614

numbers1638

the multiplicity of1639

majority1650

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a great part or proportion > the greater part, the majority

the more partOE

the best part ofOE

(the) more parta1350

(the) most parta1350

(the) most part alla1350

(the) most party1372

for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387

the better part ofa1393

the mo?a1400

most forcea1400

substancea1413

corsec1420

generalty?c1430

the greater partc1430

three quartersc1470

generalityc1485

the most feck1488

corpse1533

most1553

nine-tenths?1556

better half1566

generality?1570

pluralityc1570

body1574

the great body (of)1588

flush1592

three fourths1600

best1601

heap1609

gross1625

lump1709

bulk1711

majority1714

nineteen in twenty1730

balance1747

sweighta1800

heft1816

chief1841

the force1842

thick end1847

a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iv. l. 217 It moste ben and sholde, For substaunce of þe parlement it wolde.

1462 J. Russe in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 285 The substaunce of jentilmen and yemen of Lodynglond be assygnid to be afore the seyd commesyonerez.

1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII c. 1 §1 The said Countie [sc. Cornwall] is thre score and ten myle in lenght and the substaunce therof right litle more than six myle in brede.

1552–3 Act 7 Edw. VI c. 12 The Kynges Majesties Treasure..waasted, the greate Substaunce of the Moneyes molted and altered in bayse coyne.

1604 J. Hind Most Excellent Hist. Lysimachus & Varrona sig. B1^v [Alexandro] thought now..to distribute in their portions the substance of his wealth for the countercheck of pouertie.

1753 True Briton 17 Jan. 43 On Sunday the 17th Mr. Justice Burnet, of the Court of Common Pleas, died at his House in Lincoln's Inn-Fields, and has given the Substance of his Fortune to his Nephews.

1821 Drama or Theatr. Pocket Mag. Aug. 199 Sir Omnium learns that his agent in town has decamped with the substance of his fortune.

1967 J. T. McNeill Hist. & Char. Calvinism 193 A number of the refugees helped, and the patriotic (if not puritanic) Bonivard devoted the substance of his wealth to this good cause.

†b. The amount, quantity, or mass (of something). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun]

metc1225

mountancec1330

amountancec1380

mountenancec1385

quantityc1392

quantitya1398

substance1435

mountenessea1450

mountc1475

number1477

feck1488

quantum1602

valour1631

amount1668

amt.1744

volume1882

1435 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1435 §22. m. 3 Ther been diverses persones..that custumabely shippen..notable substance of wolle and wollefelles.

c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) l. 764 (MED) When Vertew sy the substaunce of hys oost, He prayed all the comons to the felde hem hy.

a1509 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 87 in Parl. Papers 1906 (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 A vessaill called the Mighell of Brykelsey..in the whiche diuerse merchauntes of our Citie of London had goodes and merchandises to a grete value and substaunce.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry V f. lvij^v He found there innumerable substance of plate and money belongyng to the citezens.

1565 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 244 Raffe Vasye..oweth me for all my..muke..the substance by estimac[i]on come to or will come to..two hundrethe futhers.

1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 325 Be it but so much as makes it light or heauy in the substance, or the deuision of the twentith part of one poore scruple.

1696 T. Robinson New Observ. Nat. Hist. i. xx. 76 It cannot be so easily apprehended by what Power or Means this vast substance of Water shou'd be put into so high a degree of Fermentation and Commotion.

1745 S. M. Leake Hist. Acct. Eng. Money (ed. 2) 147 King Henry the Fifth ordained a mint at Calais, whereby great substance of Money of gold and silver had been brought into the realm.

15.

a. The quality of being substantial or of having a solid basis in fact or reality; significance, consequence; (also) steadiness, dependability, or weight of character.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun]

mund?c1250

steemc1330

greatnessc1410

substancec1425

importance1485

weight1521

moment1522

weightiness1530

importancy1531

importunance1546

import1548

reckoning1582

sequel1588

ponderosity1589

valure1594

consequence1597

significance1597

circumstance1599

consequent1599

eminency1622

importmenta1625

concernment1626

consideration1634

telling1636

signification1645

considerableness1647

concerningness1657

nearness1679

significancy1679

respectability1769

interest1809

noteworthiness1852

portee1893

valency1897

the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence > substantial or solid qualities

substancec1425

consistence1626

consistency1709

nature1820

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. l. 2869 Incidentes þat bere no substaunce, Whiche were but veyn to put in remembrance.

a1450 (a1397) Prol. Old Test. in Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Cambr. Mm.2.15) (1850) xv. 58 Symple men, that wolden for no good in erthe..putte awei..the leste lettre, either title, of holi writ, that berith substaunce, either charge.

a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 66 (MED) Armes, subtiltees, nor good, nor nothing that any man may haue, withowt Hym is but a thin[g] voide and of no substaunce.

1559 Queen Elizabeth I in J. Strype Ann. Reformation (1709) I. ii. 414 Dyvers reasons which appeare unto me to have in them small substance.

1581 B. Rich Farewell Militarie Profession vi. sig. Tiij^v Knowyng her housebande to be a man of no verie greate substaunce, and but slenderly stuffed in the hedpeece.

1652 A. Evans Voice from Heaven 65 It is but a deceiveable lying wonder, of no substance.

1784 W. Godwin Imogen I. i. 7 Chastity..gave substance to her accents, and dignity to her gestures.

1858 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 25 Apr. in French & Ital. Notebks. (1980) iv. 183 Neither rulers nor people had any faith or moral substance.

1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea I. viii. 110 This fact gave great strength and substance to the pretensions of Russia.

1920 Americas Mar. 35/1 The latest news from Germany gives substance to the belief that that country is still far from being in shape to resume its former trade connections.

2007 S. Wales Echo (Nexis) 8 Mar. 59 It will take a man of some substance to connect with the players more tellingly than the Australian.

b. The quality that makes a material firm, solid, and hard-wearing.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > [noun] > substance of

substance1591

fabric1823

1591 W. Garrard & R. Hitchcock Arte of Warre i. 4 His Scowrer must be trimmed on the end with a Lynnen cloth of a sufficient substance, therewith to make cleane the cannon of hys Peece within.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Corps,..(in cloth, or stuffe) substance, tacke, stuffinesse.

1685 G. Clarke Treat. Wool & Cattel 17 Causes of the low Price of our Wool.., to wit, the not making of our Cloth of that size and substance as it ought to be.

1760 R. Symmer in Philos. Trans. 1759 (Royal Soc.) 51 370 [It is necessary] that the stockings be of silk; one of a good black, the other of a clear white; and both of the same size and substance.

1833 H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. ii. 21 You must learn from the French to give your fabrics more substance.

1915 Home Needlewk. Mag. Jan. 29/1 Whichever is used, as there is very little substance to the material, it is well to baste it along the stamped line before cutting away.

2004 L. Kimmelstiel Exquisite Little Knits 131 The second fiber gives this lovely lacelike piece enough substance and warmth to make it an all-weather accessory.

IV. Senses relating to the significant or vital part of something.

16.

a. The subject or matter addressed in a study, discourse, written work, etc.; the subject matter, theme.In some cases difficult to distinguish from sense 17a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > [noun]

thingeOE

evenOE

questionc1225

purposec1350

themec1380

mattera1387

reasonc1390

substancea1393

chapter1393

occasion1426

titlec1450

intentc1460

article1531

place1532

scope1549

subject1563

argumenta1568

string1583

matter subject1586

subject matter1587

qu.1608

haunt1622

seat1628

object matter1653

business1655

topic1728

locus1753

sub1779

ground1796

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2465 (MED) Of bodies sevene in special With foure spiritz joynt withal Stant the substance of this matiere [sc. alchemy].

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 1030 (MED) Lo, fadir, tolde haue I yow þe substance Of al my greef.

a1550 in R. Dyboski Songs, Carols & Other Misc. Poems (1908) 106 I dare not, for þer dissplesans, Tell of þes maters half the substance.

1587 in T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. (new ed.) (title page) Notes conteyning in briefe the substance of the matter handled in each section.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. i. 32 Vnto your Grace do I in chiefe addresse The substance of my speech.

1665 R. Boyle Disc. iii. v, in Occas. Refl. sig. D6^v This, if I forget not, was the substance of the Occasional Meditation, suggested to me by the Storm.

1734 J. Jurin Geom. No Friend to Infidelity 8 I find therefore no other way of reconciling your Title-page with the substance of your discourse.

1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 498/2 There are two Alexandrian schools, distinct both chronologically and in substance. The one is the Alexandrian school of poetry and science, the other the Alexandrian school of philosophy.

1920 H. J. Laski Polit. Thought in Eng. iii. 108 The less essential questions..are hardly now germane to the substance of the debate.

2001 Nature 29 Mar. 518/3 In other words, the SCI [= Science Citation Index] allows the systematic practice of ‘scientometrics’, which provides the substance of much of this book.

b. Contrasted with the manner in which this subject matter is presented or expressed.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > materials of topic > [noun] > as opposed to form

matter1340

stuffc1450

substancec1475

subject matter1583

c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 538 Yif ought be wrong in metre or in substaunce, Putteth the wyte for dulnesse on Lydgate.

1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie v. 20 Eloquution..is annexed vnto the stile, which euermore is also tyed to the argument and substaunce of euerye Epistle.

1644 W. Strode Serm. Swearing 9 Our Saviour bars not the substance of Swearing but the manner.

1735 J. Besse Protestant Flail ii. 24 The Declaration which John made them, was both in Substance and Expression the same which Malachi the Prophet had long before declar'd concerning Christ.

1780 Mirror No. 80 Having thus done justice to the merit of those authors in point of substance, I proceed to shew their excellence in the composition and style of their productions.

1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iii. §8. 29 This influence we may believe to have extended sometimes to the very words of the Revelation, but far more often only to the substance of it.

1877 R. W. Dale Nine Lect. Preaching v. 118 The substance of our preaching has been given to us in a Divine revelation.

1962 Listener 13 Sept. 406/2 After Mr Kokoschka's verve and spontaneity our average spoken word sounds..insipid both in substance and expression.

1992 W. McGowan Only Man is Vile (1993) ix. 172 Although Tamil scholars had dismissed the substance of the Mahavamsa and other Sinhalese chronicles as ‘nothing but a tangled web of cleverly contrived fiction’, they had absorbed the form.

17.

a. That which is embodied in a statement; the meaning or purport of what is expressed in writing or speech; the gist or essential meaning of an account. Also contrasted with the manner in which this is presented or expressed.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun]

sentence?c1225

intent1303

tenora1387

intendment1390

strengthc1390

porta1393

meaningc1395

process1395

continencea1398

purposec1400

substance1415

purport1422

matterc1450

storyc1450

containing1477

contenu1477

retinue1484

fecka1500

content1513

drift1526

intention1532

vein1543

importing1548

scope1549

importance1552

course1553

force1555

sense?1556

file1560

intelliment?1562

proporta1578

preport1583

import1588

importment1602

carriage1604

morala1616

significancy1641

amount1678

purview1688

sentiment1713

capacity1720

spirit1742

message1828

thrust1968

messaging1977

1415 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. I. 47 Yf heny of thes persones..woldyn contrary ye substaunce of yat i have wretyn at zys tyme.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. xxv. sig. h. 6 Yf ye wyl here and wel reteyne the mater and substaunce of this present booke.

1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) i. ii. sig. b.i ^v I shal put the substaunce of the latyn afore sayd in englysshe.

1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 17 So farre as I gather by the substance of your letters, a certaine kinde of suspicion is signified.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. i. 9 I haue receiu'd New dated letters from Northumberland, Their cold intent, tenure, and substance thus.

1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures lxxix. 321 All of them together, seeming to be Merchants sons,..sung in verse with a very sweet and melodious voyce, words of this substance, ‘High and mighty Lord’ [etc.].

a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1670 (1955) III. 557 This being the substance of what she told me.

1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 233 The substance of the Epigram imports, That Thespis was the first contriver of Tragedy.

1728 J. Rogers Vindic. Civil Establishm. Relig. 18 His long invidious Declamations on these Topicks, which make the Substance of his Letter, are groundless and impertinent.

1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. vi. 155 Who repeated the substance of what had passed between Montoni and herself.

1837 Baroness Bunsen in A. J. C. Hare Life & Lett. Baroness Bunsen (1879) I. x. 461 The whole substance of his communications proved a state of vicious disorganization.

1867 J. Ruskin Time & Tide iii. §9 The substance of what I said to them was this.

1903 J. Bryce Stud. in Contemp. Biogr. 285 He made each step so certain that he seldom required to reinvestigate a point or to change, in revising for the press, the substance of what he had written.

1964 ‘N. Blake’ Sad Variety iv. 36 You must on no account tell them about the substance of this conversation.

2009 L. F. Edwards People & their Peace ii. iv. 113 When doubts arose about testimony, they usually involved the credibility of the speakers, rather than the substance of what they said.

†b. The main intent or purpose. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object > chief

substance1606

great shot1644

1606 G. Chapman Gentleman Vsher iv. sig. F4 To execute the substance of our mindes, In honor'd nuptialls.

†18. The vital, principal, or most necessary part of something. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > essential or central

pitheOE

effectc1405

substancec1450

kernel1556

nick1577

keystone1641

vitals1657

narrow1702

secret1738

ganglion1828

nub1833

primality1846

keyword1848

knub1864

buzzword1946

in word1964

the world > life > source or principle of life > vital principle > [noun]

souleOE

lifeOE

spiritusOE

bloodOE

ghostOE

life and soulOE

quickship?c1225

quicknessc1230

breatha1300

spirita1325

spark1382

naturec1385

sparkle1388

livelinessa1398

rational soula1398

spiracle1398

animal spirit?a1425

vital spiritc1450

soul of the world1525

candle1535

fire1576

three souls1587

vitality?1592

candlelight1596

substance1605

vivacity1611

animality1615

vividity1616

animals1628

life spring1649

archeus1651

vital1670

spirituosity1677

springs of life1681

microcosmetor1684

vital force1702

vital spark (also flame)1704

stamen1718

vis vitae1752

prana1785

Purusha1785

jiva1807

vital force1822

heartbeat1828

world-soul1828

world-spirit1828

life energy1838

life force1848

ghost soul1869

will to live1871

biogen1882

ki1893

mauri1897

élan vital1907

orgone1942

c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 233 ‘The kingis sone’, sche seide, ‘is deed, Þe ioie, þe substaunce of my lijfe.’

1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus i. i. 371 Deare father, soule and substance of vs all.

1605 1st Pt. Jeronimo sig. B^v Come my soules spaniell, my lifes ietty substance.

Phrases

P1. in substance. (Cf. substantially adv.)

a. In reality; in actual fact.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb] > in reality

in substancea1393

indeed1412

in realitya1513

in nature1605

solidly1625

under the skin (also skins)1896

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2563 To receive Bothe in substance and in figure Of gold and selver the nature.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. x. sig. f8 Wyth the watre of this fontayne is the bame watred, and of this water may not be employed ne born in to other place, ffor in substaunce it doth nomore than other water.

1548 R. Crowley Confut. Mishapen Aunswer sig. A.iv^v Other wise then the cup was the newe testament or couenaunt established by hys bloude shed on the crosse, that is to saye in significacion and not in substaunce.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 775 Hee the future evil shall no less In apprehension then in substance feel Grievous to bear.

1797 E. Burke Remarks Policy Allies in Three Memorials on French Affairs 174 We know that the Monarchy did not survive the Hierarchy, no not even in appearance, for many months; in substance, not for a single hour.

a1868 C. Harpur Poet. Wks. (1984) 106 Not in seeming, but in substance free, To God, as monarch, only bend the knee.

1989 G. Steiner Real Presences i. vi. 27 Originality is antithetical to novelty. The etymology of the word alerts us. It tells of ‘inception’ and of ‘instauration’, of a return, in substance and in form, to beginnings.

†b. In general; generally speaking. Obsolete.In Middle English poetry used, esp. by Lydgate, as a metrical tag.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > in general [phrase] > in general terms or not in detail

in substancec1425

in gross1430

at large1533

generally speaking1549

in generality1563

in the general1584

as to the general1617

in general1621

by and large1707

in the vague1851

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 976 (MED) Of þe charge þat he on hym leyde..Þis was þe somme pleinly, in substaunce.

1447 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Feb. 1447 §11. m. 5 In whos kepyng the bokes, sureteez and godes in substaunce holy remaigne.

c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) l. 645 In especial ther be tweyne [weyes], And thou mayst chese[n], in substaunce, Whiche ys most to thy plesaunce.

a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 5881 Yt behoueth in sentence, That the fulfyllyng in substaunce To the fulle haue suffysaunce.

a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) l. 1968 Now haue I here rehersid in substaunce xv kynges, As shortly as I myght, With ther powre and All ther hoole puysaunce.

†c. In the main, for the most part. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > in general [phrase] > for the most part

for the more party1372

for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387

for the more partc1405

for (the) most partc1405

much dealc1425

in substancea1450

for the mostc1531

in (also for) the generality1580

for the general1581

in (also for, on, upon) the maina1591

largely1594

principally1600

in chiefa1616

mainly1640

nine times (parts, etc.) out of (also in, of) ten1648

greatly1742

as a rule1828

a1450–1500 ( Libel Eng. Policy (1926) 122 By draperinge of oure wolle, in substaunce, Lyvene here comons; this is here governaunce.

1474–5 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1472 3rd Roll §43. m. 10 The which forseid .x.^th part, and .xv.^e and .x.^e..been in substaunce levied and paied.

a1500 ( Bale's Chron. in R. Flenley Six Town Chron. (1911) 119 And the hertes of the comones in substaunce wer w^t þe Erle: And a geinst the seid priour.

d. In essentials, substantially.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [adverb]

formlyc1374

virtuallya1398

essentially1398

pithily1434

substantial1447

in substance1460

quidditativelyc1600

absolutely1654

constitutionally1766

essential1827

substantively1828

1460 G. Sperlyng in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 202 I seid nout but þat I wole abyde by, which was this in substaunce.

1491–2 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1491 §15. m. 7 All whiche matiers afore rehercid is by the seid John Hayes in substaunce confessed and knowleged.

1581 in D. Digges Compl. Ambassador (1655) 440 She used in substance the like speeches the King had done.

1601 Bp. W. Barlow Serm. Paules Crosse Martij 1600 (title page) Whereunto is annexed a true copie, in substance, of the behauiour, speache, and prayer of the said Earle at the time of his execution.

1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 106 The Religion of the Persians is in substance the same with that of the Turks.

1737 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 662/1 To this it was replied in Substance as follows.

1821 T. Jefferson Writings (1830) IV. 344 I may misremember indifferent circumstances, but can be right in substance.

1857 J. Keble On Eucharistical Adoration ii. 26 Whitgift..adds, in substance, the same account of it.

1908 Progr. Modernism 118 These are, in substance, our ideas upon the origin of religion.

1999 Courier Mail (Queensland) 24 May 15 His position on east Jerusalem was no different in substance from that of his defeated right-wing predecessor.

†e. In a pure or unmixed state, in the natural state. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > state or quality of being simple, unmixed, or uncompounded > simple or unmixed [phrase]

in substance1614

pur sang1846

1614 W. Barclay Nepenthes sig. A7 Tabacco purgeth by slauer onelie, being taken in the mouth in substance or in smoake.

1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. ii. ii. iii. 102 Theophrastus speakes of a Shepheard that could eat Hellebor in substance.

1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. i. iv. ii. 303 A friend..would needs take Hellebor in substance.

1685 R. Boyle Reconcileableness Spec. Med. to Corpusc. Philos. 142 Some..would without scruple, take several Grains of Crude Antimony in substance.

1737 Med. Ess. & Observ. (ed. 2) II. vi. 48 Steel Spaws are every where so frequent in this Part of Scotland where I live, that to imagine them impregnated with Iron in Substance, were to conceive the whole Country in one Mine.

1853 J. W. Comfort Pract. Med. (ed. 4) 527 Peruvian bark is most active when taken in substance.

†f. Perhaps (with adjectival force): real, substantial. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [adverb]

in (the) bodyc1175

substantiallya1398

materiallyc1443

in substance1649

1649 J. Milton Tenure of Kings 4 When the Common wealth nigh perishes for want of deeds in substance, don with just and faithfull expedition.

†g. In effect, virtually. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [adverb] > virtually

in effectc1405

virtuouslya1475

virtuallya1600

equipollently1642

equivalently1644

physically1690

in substance1737

practically1749

essentially1774

1737 London Mag. Mar. 116/1 It is very unsafe for a King to allow one Man, or one Family, to ingross too much..; for by so doing he generally transfers the Royalty in Substance.

1834 H. Taylor Philip van Artevelde i. i. ii Think well What you should say; for if it must be ‘no’ In substance, you shall hardly find that form Which shall convey it pleasantly.

P2. of substance.

a. Of a person: possessing substantial means; well-to-do, wealthy. Chiefly of good (also great) substance, and man (also person, woman) of substance.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > wealth > rich or wealthy [phrase] > well off

well at easec1330

of substance?a1439

at rack and (at) mangera1500

in good case1560

well to live1568

well and warmc1571

well to pass in the worlda1609

inlaid1699

in easy circumstancesa1704

well to do in the world1805

stouth and routh1816

quids in1919

a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) iv. l. 394 Ther was oon..Callid Camyllus, a lord of gret substaunce.

1495–6 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 211 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 Suche inhabitantes of grete substans.

?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 50 That syre of substance.

a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1908) II. 435 The Comien Counceill of þe Cite & other persones of substaunce.

1553 T. Paynell tr. St. Augustine 12 Serm. ix. sig. G.viij Many..marye wemen of more nobilitie and substance, then they themselues be.

1600 H. Roberts Haigh for Deuonshire To Rdr. sig. A4 There was dwelling neer, and in the renowned City of Exeter, Totnes, Plymouth, Barnestable, and Tyuerton, many [merchants] of great substance.

1681 in Pennsylvania Arch. (1852) I. 38 Men of substance and reputation.

1716 W. Hawkins Treat. Pleas Crown I. xlii. 109 The marrying a Woman of Substance by Force, and other Offences of the like Nature, were made Felonies by 3 H7. 2.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. vii. x. 127 I had provided her a proper Match, a sober Man, and one of Substance .

1840 W. M. Thackeray Catherine xxii Hayes's father was reported to be a man of some substance.

1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. i. 2 My father being of good substance, at least as we reckon in Exmoor.

1882 Harper's Mag. Mar. 550/1 The administrator..has..various lands and casitas of his own—a person of substance, in fact.

1934 Times 3 Oct. 5/6 Wilson was represented as a man of considerable substance, with a suite at the Ritz Hotel.

1969 N.Y. Mag. 29 Sept. 29/3 The stylish woman of substance seemed relieved that she had been accepted.

2002 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 14 Nov. 5 He was a man of substance but never one for flashing his wealth around.

b. Of something immaterial: substantial, significant, weighty.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > specifically of things

of substancea1456

solid1601

ponderous1602

of the moment1814

a1456 Ld. Cromwell in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 110 There is a greet straungenesse betwix my right trusty frend John Radcliff and you, withoute any matier or cause of substaunce, as I am lerned.

1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) iv. xxxiii. f. lxxxii The hygher that he is sette in estate, the more shold his wordes be of substaunce and moost of reputacion.

1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aiii Tryfelous thynges y^t were lytell to be regarded she wolde let passe by, but the other y^t were of weyght & substaunce [etc.].

1602 R. Parsons Manifestation Great Folly iii. f. 36 What one thing of substance do they alleadge against, the sayed father, yf we set aparte, slaunders, scoffes and contumelious speaches?

1650 R. Stapleton tr. F. Strada De Bello Belgico vi. 22 In all these Punctualityes and curious Accommodations for his March, there was nothing of substance, all meerly Show and Colour.

1700 J. Adams Ess. conc. Self-murther xiii. 228 Glory..is something of substance, like solid Imagery, not the slight shadowing of fading Colours.

1779 Town & Country Mag. Jan. 38/2 He appears to have been more tenacious in points of form, than in matters of substance.

1843 O. L. Barbour Treat. Pract. Court of Chancery I. iii. iv. 603 Affidavits ought to be fairly and legibly written, in one hand, without blots or interlineations of any words of substance.

1925 Times 7 Dec. 11/1 Majority and minority reports were made differing on various points of considerable substance.

2004 J. Fellowes Snobs (2005) xviii. 276 We kissed and chatted and ordered, knowing as we did so that there was a conversation of some substance to come, but by mutual consent we waited until our first courses.

†c. Of a meal: amply and nourishing. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > meal > [adjective] > qualities of meals

substantial1340

simplea1387

dry1483

of substance?c1500

large1528

hearty?1550

abstemious1604

scrambling1607

running1618

lusty1672

sit-down1789

well-served1796

à la carte1816

slap-up1823

quaresimal1828

scratch1851

square1868

scrambly1900

set1914

handout1915

all-you-can-eat1940

spready1960

carbo-load1986

?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) l. 574 I haue ordeynnyd a dyner of substawns, My chyff freyndes þerwith to chyr.

P3. sum (also †summary) and substance see sum n.¹ Phrases 4, summary n. 2.

Compounds

C1. attributive and objective. Originally U.S. In sense 8d, as substance addiction, substance dependence, substance user, etc. See also substance abuse n., substance abuser n. at Compounds 3.

ΚΠ

1968 Amer. Sociologist 3 327/2 The Standing Committee on Substance Misuse of the Institute for the Study of Drug Addiction.

1989 N.Y. Times 12 June a18/6 Those who are trying to help the homeless substance user..are overlooking an important source of information and help in Alcoholics Anonymous and its sister fellowships, Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous.

1993 New Scientist 17 July 48/4 Addiction is properly defined in terms of the extent to which substance use assumes control of an individual's behaviour.

1998 D. Carroll & F. F. Eves in H. S. Friedman Encycl. Mental Health II. 250/2 Like the substance addict, the pathological gambler is consumed by gambling.

2003 Evening Herald (Plymouth) (Nexis) 1 Sept. 4 Most of its clients have a high severity of substance dependence and have usually used drugs or alcohol for more than a decade.

2009 J. S. Turner Amer. Families in Crisis ii. 34 At one time, the term addiction was used almost exclusively for substance addiction, such as dependency on alcohol or cocaine.

C2.

† substance-yielding adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Substantifique, substantiell, or substance-yeelding.

C3.

substance abuse n. originally U.S. the excessive use, or misuse, of any substance for its intoxicating, stimulant, or narcotic effects; the abuse of alcohol or (esp. illegal) drugs.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > [noun]

habit1887

misuse1890

sleigh-ride1925

sleigh-riding1934

scoring1967

substance abuse1967

the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [noun] > addiction to alcohol or habitual drinking

intemperancy1586

intemperance1617

bibacity1623

dipsomania1843

bibulousness1844

alcoholism1848

potomania1858

inebriacy1876

alcohol problem1879

drink-habit1890

alcohol abuse1891

toperism1896

oenomania1897

drinking-habit1899

bibulosity1901

drinking problem1957

substance abuse1967

1967 [see sense 8d].

1967 Salt Lake Tribune 25 Dec. e3/1 More than one referral in eight to the court is in the category of acts against self, including substance abuse.

1984 J. Didion Democracy (1985) i. ix. 44 A clinic on East 61st Street that specialized in the treatment of what the therapist called adolescent substance abuse.

2001 A. Solomon Noonday Demon (2002) vi. 217 Depression and substance abuse form a cycle. People who are depressed abuse substances in a bid to free themselves of their depression.

substance abuser n. originally U.S. a person who engages in substance abuse.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > [noun] > drug-user

drug-taker1800

sleigh-rider1833

abuser1847

user1935

joy-popper1936

popper1967

substance abuser1967

the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [noun] > one who drinks to excess > alcoholic or habitual drinker

supper?1529

blow-bowl1530

drunkard1530

drunkera1538

blow-bottle1580

tippler1580

potman1589

red nose1591

sot1592

water rat1593

ply-pot1611

potter1632

pothead1639

pisspot1655

pitcher-man1665

whetter1709

inebriate1794

rummy1843

alcoholic1852

oenomaniac1857

dipsomaniac1858

alcoholizer1880

alcoholist1888

potationist1888

lush1890

rumdum1891

rumhound1895

blacklister1904

dipso1923

rumpot1929

alky1944

juice-head1955

alcohol abuser1965

juicer1967

substance abuser1967

jakey1988

1967 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 67 2208/3 (advt.) Service and Research Center for substance abusers and their families.

1978 Tucson (Arizona) Mag. Dec. 58/3 Kino Hospital's new psychiatric ward can handle 32 patients. Sixteen are what are known as substance abusers.

1987 Truck June 45/2 The American Trucking Association..has pledged to do ‘whatever it takes’ to get substance abusers out of the industry.

2004 H. Kunzru Transmission (2005) 278 He describes himself now, with a certain prim disgust, as a ‘drinker and substance abuser’.

substance-free adj. (a) without substance; insubstantial; (b) originally U.S. not permitting, involving, or using intoxicating, stimulant, or narcotic substances (cf. sense 8d).

ΚΠ

1960 Marriage & Family Living 22 301/1 Only those concepts which are abstract and general (substance-free) are included.

1984 Postville (Iowa) Herald 7 Mar. 13/4 Over 300 communities have expressed an interest in sponsoring substance-free graduation or prom parties.

1998 C. Barker Galilee iii. viii. 130 The article twittered on in the same substance-free manner for several pages; I don't think anything of any moment was said from beginning to end.

2002 Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent) (Nexis) 27 Aug. 5 A rehabilitation centre geared toward helping recovering drug addicts stay substance-free is set to open in Newcastle.

Draft additions December 2022

substance use disorder n. Psychiatry any of a group of mental health conditions characterized by chronic use of a psychoactive substance over which the affected person has limited self-control, and which persists despite harmful physical and social consequences.

1979 Tribune (Scranton, Pa.) 8 June 22/2 A workshop concerning the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III will be held Wednesday... Areas covered are the concept and plan of DSM III, organic mental disorders, substance use disorders, schizophrenic disorders, affective disorders [etc.]

2004 D. K. Novins et al. in R. J. Bonnie & M. E. O'Connell Reducing Underage Drinking Background Papers xiv. 683 In this study, 15 percent of those youth with a substance use disorder..had a comorbid depressive disorder.

2020 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 19 Oct. a4/2 Younger veterans are more likely to have a history of substance abuse, and one-fifth of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are diagnosed with a substance use disorder.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2022).

单词	substance
释义	substancen. Brit. /ˈsʌbst(ə)ns/, U.S. /ˈsəbstəns/ Forms: Middle English substaunce (plural), Middle English substawns, Middle English–1500s substans, Middle English–1500s substauns, Middle English–1500s sustaunce, Middle English–1600s substaunce, Middle English– substance, late Middle English sobstans, late Middle English sobstons, late Middle English sopesans (perhaps transmission error), late Middle English supstance (in a late copy), late Middle English supstans; Scottish pre-1700 substans, pre-1700 substaunce, pre-1700 1700s– substance. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French substance; Latin substantia. Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman substans, substaunce, sustaunce, sostance, Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French substance, Anglo-Norman and Old French sustance (French substance ) wealth, possessions, living being (all first half of the 12th cent.), physical existence, matter, (in theology) essence (all late 12th cent.), food (first half of the 13th cent. or earlier), subsistence, means of living, being that subsists by itself (all first half of the 13th cent.), one of the qualities of a fluid (mid 13th cent.), tenor, gist (late 13th cent. or earlier), material of which a thing is made (13th cent.), majority, principal part (1394 or earlier), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin substantia quality of being real or having an actual existence, quality of having a corporeal existence, reality of a thing, actual state of affairs, underlying or essential nature, constitution, material of which a thing is made, sum or aggregate (of a person's possessions), possessions, assets, (in a calculation) basic unit of measurement, in post-classical Latin also basis, foundation (Vulgate; late 2nd or early 3rd cent. in Tertullian), thing (late 2nd cent. in Tertullian), firmness (3rd cent.), person of the Trinity (4th cent.), food (4th or 5th cent.), person (5th cent.), matter or tissue composing a bodily organ, consistency of a fluid (13th cent. in a British source), any particular kind of matter with uniform properties (1363 in Chauliac) < substant- , present participial stem of substāre to stand or be under, be present ( < sub- sub- prefix + stāre to stand: see stand v.) + -ia -ia suffix¹. Compare Old Occitan sustansa (12th cent., later also substansa, sostancia, etc.), Spanish sustancia (13th cent., also as substancia), Portuguese substância (14th cent., also as sustança), Italian sostanza (early 14th cent. as sustanzia and sustanza); also Middle Dutch, Dutch substantie, Middle Low German substancie, Middle High German substanz (German Substanz).Classical Latin (and post-classical Latin) substantia was adopted as the translation equivalent of ancient Greek οὐσία in its various senses (see ousia n.). It is also sometimes used to translate ancient Greek ὑπόστασις hypostasis n. (compare sense 3) and Hellenistic Greek ὕπαρξις hyparxis n. (compare sense 12b); compare the discussion at subsistence n. Substance is contrasted with expression , form , style , etc., in various senses. With sense 13 compare post-classical Latin supersubstantialis and the discussion at supersubstantial adj. Compare earlier sustenance n. and later subsistence n. With in substance at Phrases 1 compare Anglo-Norman and Middle French French en substance in essence, essentially (1324 or earlier), in summary (1377). With of substance at Phrases 2 compare (in slightly different sense) Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French de substance noble, important (1385, of a person; also de grande substance (1402 of a matter, or earlier)). I. Senses relating to the nature or essence of something. 1. Theology. The divine essence or nature, esp. as that in which the three persons of the Trinity are united as one.The first occurrence of the word in sense c1350¹ is in this sense; cf. quot. c1350 at sense 7a. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] pitheOE i-cundeeOE roota1325 substancec1330 juicec1380 marrowa1382 formc1385 acta1398 quidditya1398 substantial forma1398 inward1398 savourc1400 inwardc1450 allaya1456 essencya1475 being1521 bottom1531 spirit?1534 summary1548 ecceity1549 core1556 flower1568 formality1570 sum and substance1572 alloy1594 soul1598 inwardness1605 quid1606 fibre1607 selfness1611 whatness1611 essentialityc1616 propera1626 the whole shot1628 substantiala1631 esse1642 entity1643 virtuality1646 ingeny1647 quoddity1647 intimacy1648 ens1649 inbeing1661 essence1667 interiority1701 intrinsic1716 stamen1758 character1761 quidditas1782 hyparxis1792 rasa1800 bone1829 what1861 isness1865 inscape1868 as-suchness1909 Wesen1959 the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > the Trinity > [noun] > substance of substancec1330 essence1481 ousia1861 c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 8918 (MED) He herd angels steuen And seiȝe Fader and Sone and Holi Gost In on substaunce, in on acost. c1350 Athanasian Creed (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) 195 He his God, of þe substaunce [L. ex substantia] of þe fader biȝeten to-fore þe worldes; & man, of þe substaunce of þe moder born in þe world. c1350 Athanasian Creed (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) 194 Noiþer confoundand persons, ne departand þe substaunce [L. substantiam]. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 9762 (MED) An-fald godd vndelt es he, And a substance wit-in þir thre. c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 77 (MED) Þe being of þe sone is his substaunce and his godhede. a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. Clxxxxvii The pure substaunce of god in his owne nature & deite. 1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lii. 109 In Christ therefore God and man there is..a two-folde substance, not a two-folde person, because one person extinguisheth an other, whereas one nature cannot in another become extinct. c1610–15 tr. Gregory of Nazianzus Life St. Nonna in C. Horstmann Lives Women Saints (1886) 173 [Arius] affirming the Sonne of god to be of inferiour substance to his Father. 1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. iv. 601 That Essence or Substance of the Godhead, which all the Three Persons or Hypostases agree in. 1751 W. Berriman Christian Doctr. & Duties Explained I. v. 94 Nor could we dispute the justice of such exclusion,..if there were no other Persons united with the Father, in the same Substance and Godhead. 1833 J. H. Newman Arians 4th Cent. iv. 308 The Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are said to be three in substance,..one in will. 1860 E. B. Pusey Minor Prophets 12 God giveth us of His Substance, His Nature,..making us partakers of the Divine Nature. 1959 Harvard Theol. Rev. 52 11 The affirmation of the Son's origin from divine substance left no doubt in anyone's mind as to his divinity. 2011 A. E. McGrath Christian Theol. iii. xi. 285/2 The doctrine of the incarnation, especially as developed within the Alexandrian school, affirms the presence of the divine nature or substance within Christ. 2. Philosophy. A being that subsists by itself; a distinct individual entity; (also gen.) a thing, being. Cf. also thinking substance n. at thinking adj. Compounds.See also first substance n. at first adj., adv., and n.² Compounds 1b(b), primary substance n. at primary adj. and n. Compounds. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > [noun] > an individual thing or person substance1340 individuum?a1425 individa1500 suppositum1593 supposite1612 singular1615 individuality1631 the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence > substance or being being1340 substance1340 essencea1398 materialitya1529 stuff1587 subject1590 timber1612 primary substance1774 the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence > that which has substantial existence substance1340 substant1597 substantiality1603 subsistence1605 subsistencya1628 existency1651 subsistent1656 substander1662 the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > metaphysics > ontology > [noun] > being or entity > that exists by itself substance1340 subject1387 ens reale1565 individual1582 suppositum1593 supposite1612 substantiala1631 secondary substance1774 absolute1858 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 112 [Supersubstantial bread] þet is to zigge: þet paseþ and ouergeþ alle substances and alle ssepþes be ver. a1425 (a1382) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Gen. vii. 4 I shal reyn vpon the erthe..and I shal do awey al substaunce [L. substantiam] the which Y made, fro the ouermost of the erthe. c1450 (?c1400) tr. Honorius Augustodunensis Elucidarium (1909) 1 (MED) God is a goostly substaunce of..moche fairenes & swetnes. c1475 Mankind (1969) l. 896 Be ware..Of ȝour synfull delectacion, þat grewyth ȝour gostly substans; ȝour body ys ȝour enmy; let hym not haue hys wyll. 1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Hvij^v A liuely bodie is a substaunce, Ergo a man is a substaunce. 1599 J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 22 She [sc. the soul] is a substance, and a perfect being. c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) i. 130 God is an Essence intellectuall, A perfect Substance incorporeall. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost viii. 109 His Omnipotence, That to corporeal substances could adde Speed almost Spiritual. View more context for this quotation 1707 J. Oldfield Ess. Improvem. Reason ii. iii. 139 Minds, which are indiscerpible, are thinking Substances. 1784 H. Hamilton Attempt to prove Existence & Perfection Supreme Being v. 155 There must be in the universe not only one but many substances that are individuals, or do not consist of parts, for all conscious and thinking substances must be such. a1831 J. Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 8/1 We refer all our states of being to a substance called self. 1868 A. Bain Mental & Moral Sci. App. 50 Mind being..expressed by the one attribute Thought (construed, however, as Thinking Substance), and..Body..summed up in the one attribute Extension (Extended Substance). 1910 T. Case in Encycl. Brit. II. 510/2 The doctrine that all things are substances which are separate individuals, stated in the Categories, is expanded in the Metaphysics. 1973 H. Skolimowski & A. Quinton tr. K. Ajdukiewicz Probl. & Theories Philos. (1975) viii. 86 Impressions are not substances which can exist self-subsistingly. 2010 P. Loptson Reality (rev. ed.) iii. 46 Persons or thinking substances are, in the Cartesian system, free, capable of free actions and choices. †3. gen. Something that underlies or provides support; a basis, foundation; a ground, cause. Obsolete.The word is still used in Hebrews 11:1 (cf. quot. c1384) in some 20th cent. translations of the Bible, such as the New King James Version (1982). ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > basis or foundation > [noun] ground1340 root1340 substancec1384 fundament1395 foundationc1400 groundment?a1412 footing1440 anvila1450 bottom ground1557 groundwork1557 foot1559 platform1568 subsistence1586 subject matter1600 ground-colour1614 basisa1616 substratum1631 basement1637 bottoma1639 fonda1650 fibre1656 fund1671 fundamen1677 substruction1765 starting ground1802 fundus1839 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Heb. xi. 1 Feith is the substaunce [L. substantia; Gk. ὑπόστασις] of thingis to be hopid. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 3889 Ther is nothing Which mai be betre aboute a king, Than conseil, which is the substance Of all a kinges governance. ?c1450 (a1388) tr. Richard of Wallingford Exafrenon (Digby) in J. D. North Wks. Richard of Wallingford (1976) I. 183 Thai ar callid 5 dignytes..And this the substance of domes, for upon the dignytes hanghtes moste fors and strenghtes of them abowte the which philosofris travelis besily. a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 67 Þerfor feythe is callid substaunce, that is, the foundement of thinges esperable. 1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. i. iv. sig. B.vii^v/2 The substance or hypostasis is the foundation, or the vnmoueable proppe, which vpholdeth vs. 1595 W. S. Lamentable Trag. Locrine i. i. 70 A greater care torments my verie bones, And makes me tremble at the thought of it, And in you, Lordings, doth the substance lie. 1659 S. Clarke Medulla Theologiæ xvii. 172 The Covenant is the foundation or substance of Baptisme. 4. a. Philosophy. The essential element underlying phenomena, which is subject to modifications; the permanent substratum of things; that in which properties or attributes inhere. Also: logical subject (see quot. 1872). Frequently contrasted with accident.See also general substance n. at general adj. and n. Compounds 2, second substance n. at second adj. and n.² Compounds 1, secondary substance at secondary adj. 3f. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > metaphysics > [noun] > matter or substance substancea1398 first substance1551 subject1590 hypostasis1605 byss1649 body1651 substratum1651 support1660 general substance1697 supporter1697 substrate1730 object-subject1867 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxvi. 1355 Whanne tweyne accidentis beþ in oon substaunce and subiecte [L. in uno subiecto], as colour and savour. 1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Cij The feare of God is an Accident, the soule is a Substaunce. 1606 L. Bryskett Disc. Ciuill Life 116 The substance of euery thing is so called, by reason that it is subiect vnto accidents; neither can there be any accident (to which it is proper to be in some subiect) but it must fall into some substance. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xxiii. 136 The Idea..to which we give the general name Substance, being nothing, but the supposed..support of those Qualities..which we imagine cannot subsist, sine re substante, without something to support them. 1762 Ld. Kames Elements Crit. III. App. 376 A thing with respect to its qualities is termed a subject, or substratum... The..substratum of visible qualities, is termed substance. 1781 W. Cowper Anti-Thelypthora 42 Substances and modes of ev'ry kind. 1838 F. Haywood tr. I. Kant Critick Pure Reason i. 174 The determinations of a substance, which are nothing else but its particular modes of existing, are termed accidents. 1872 J. P. Mahaffy Kant's Crit. Philos. I. 268 Thus the pure Category of substance is that which can only be subject—and not predicate. 1902 Philos. Rev. 11 18 I may say states of consciousness cannot be conceived without an ego that has them. Then that ego is their substance. 1963 D. M. Matheson tr. F. Schuon Understanding Islam iv. 107 They take accidents for reality and deny Substance by describing it as unreal or abstract. 2000 A. Hastings in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 714/2 Everything apparent to the sense is an ‘accident’ but beneath accidents lies the substance of a thing, that which it ‘really is’. b. In extended and allusive uses. Now rare. ΚΠ c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Pardoner's Tale (Ellesmere) (1872) C. §4. l. 539 Thise Cookes, how they stampe, and streyne and grynde And turnen substaunce in-to Accident. a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iv. l. 1505 Þenk þat folye is whan man may chese For accident is [= his] substaunce ay to lese. 1493 Chastysing Goddes Chyldern (de Worde) xxv. sig. Fv/2 It is not good to destreye the more for the lesse, ne the substaunce for the accydent. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 570 The Capteynes there, myndyng not to lease the more for the lesse, nor the substance for the accident. 1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man vi. 568 Euill is no substance nor nature, but an accident that commeth to the substance. 1654 Z. Coke Art of Logick 189 The causes are found out and put in substances, in respect of the Essence, Matter, and Form. 1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 28 Not changing the substance, but regulating the mode. View more context for this quotation 1983 W. Weaver tr. U. Eco Name of Rose (1984) 254 You will see that the picture of our stranger is drawn very clearly and that all these properties, or accidents, are suited to a substance that I would have no fear in denning as our cellarer, Remigio of Varagine. c. Theology. With reference to the doctrine of the Real Presence in the Eucharist. Cf. presence n. 1c, transubstantiation n. 2. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > sacrament > communion > eucharistic doctrines > presence of Christ in communion > [noun] > actual substancec1430 real presence1542 c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 321 The doctryne of holy chirche is that in this blessid sacrament..the..accidentes of breed and wyn been there..with oute the substaunce of breed and wyne. 1546 S. Gardiner Detection Deuils Sophistrie 14 b The substaunce of bred, beyng conuerted into the naturall bodely substaunce of our sauioure [printed souioure] Christe. 1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxvii. 178 How the wordes of Christ commaunding vs to eate must needes importe that as hee hath coupled the substance of his fleshe and the substance of bread together, so we together should receiue both. 1651 C. Cartwright Certamen Religiosum i. 131 It doth argue an extraordinary power in Christ to give his Flesh to eat, though there be no turning of the substance of the Bread in the Sacrament into the substance of his Flesh. 1701 T. Bennet Confut. Popery ii. vii. 134 The Doctrine of Transubstantiation supposes, that the whole substance of the Bread is turn'd into the Body. 1748 G. Smith Britons & Saxons not converted to Popery 321 He [sc. St Gregory] was so far from teaching a Change of Substance in the Holy Eucharist, that he plainly asserts the contrary. 1854 H. H. Milman Hist. Lat. Christianity III. vi. ii. 21 The substance of the bread and wine was actually annihilated—nothing existed but the body and blood of the Redeemer. 1920 P. Smith Age of Reformation ii. 108 The substance of the bread turned into the substance of the body. 2010 G. R. Allison in T. R. Schreiner & M. R. Crawford Lord's Supper vi. 169 Aquinas..explained how conversion of one substance into another..can take place by divine power with the Eucharist. Though the substance changes, the accidents of the bread and wine remain. †5. Substantial existence; substantiality, being. Occasionally as a count noun. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence substancec1430 subsistence?a1475 substantialityc1480 subsisting1578 body1647 substantivity1851 c1430 (c1370) G. Chaucer A.B.C. (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1878) l. 87 As I seyde erst þou ground of substaunce Contynewe on vs þyme petous eyne clere. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde ii. x. f. 87 To gyue substance to priuation, (that is) beinge to noo beinge. 1628 T. Spencer Art of Logick 17 A first, or individuall substance, may be taken two wayes: one way, for every thing that hath a substance; another way, for a compleat subsistency, in the nature of any species. 6. a. Esp. in legal use: that which constitutes the essential part or aspect of something. Cf. substantial adj. 9b. ΘΚΠ society > law > jurisprudence > [noun] > the essential merits of a matter substance?a1450 the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] > an essential quality or principle substance?a1450 essentiality1649 principle1662 hypostasis1678 internal1697 ?a1450 in C. von Nolcken Middle Eng. Transl. Rosarium Theol. (1979) 71 Off þe substance of þis sacrament bene 4 þingz: þe 1 is þat he þat consecrateþ þe eukaristie be ane prest. 1592 W. West Symbolæogr.: 1st Pt. i. §22 The substance of this contract consisteth in the thing solde, and in the price thereof. a1623 H. Swinburne Treat. Spousals (1686) 141 Resisting the Substance of Matrimony, it overthroweth the Contract. a1626 F. Bacon Elements Common Lawes (1630) 4 The intention is matter of substance. 1685 Bp. S. Parker Relig. & Loyalty: 2nd Pt. xxxii. 561 This is the substance of the learned Advocates Plea. 1753 A. McDouall Inst. Laws Scotl. III. Index 9/2 The substance of the contract could not, by the civil law, be referred to one of the parties, but only its incidents. 1839 J. Bouvier Law Dict. U.S.A. II. 418/1 Substance, evidence. That which is essential; it is used in opposition to form. 1879 Central Law Jrnl. 9 May 374/1 Matters which do not go to the substance of the contract..do not authorize an abandonment of the contract. 1922 W. M. Lile Outl. Equity Pleading (ed. 2) xiv. 102 There are many other objections besides those going to the substance of the case. 1997 Internat. Law Rep. 105 284 Since the view I take crosses the jurisdictional threshold into the substance of the case, my judicial duty compels me to address these questions. b. gen. That which gives a thing its character; that which constitutes the essence of a thing; the essential part, essence. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] > essence or essential constituent substancec1480 basea1550 marrowbone1554 ground1580 subsistence1581 basis1601 essence1656 body1664 hardpan1842 c1480 (a1400) St. Peter 403 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 19 In þis symon dwellis ay twa substance, þat is to wyt, of devel and man, to-gyddir knete. c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Gouernaunce of Princis (1993) ii. 64 And the substaunce of largess js—to nocht remember apon the gyftis gevin. 1539 C. Tunstall Serm. Palme Sondaye sig. Aiii He was in ful substance, in full essence, in ful glorie, in eternitie, equal with his father. c1585 R. Browne Answere to Cartwright 55 To be able to teache is not of the substance of a minister, but onely of a lawful minister. 1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 96 Phi. What doe you call keeping the substance of a note? Ma. When in breaking it, you sing either your first or last note in the same key wherin it standeth, or in his eight. 1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum 94 The essences, or substances of things are not here meant. 1694 W. Sherlock Def. Notion of Trinity in Unity 88 The Dean does not pretend to know any thing of the Substance of a Mind, much less of God, who is an infinite Mind. 1716 Alectruonophonia 13 The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper may in like manner be call'd a part of Divine Worship, in respect of the whole Sum and Substance of Religion. 1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 220 Miserable bigots..who hate sects and parties different from their own, more than they love the substance of religion. View more context for this quotation 1856 N. Brit. Rev. 26 41 Modern thought, in its substance, is a congeries of all those refined theistic speculations, of all those baffled aspirations, of all those deep and distracting surmises. 1869 J. B. Mozley Univ. Serm. (1876) ii. 39 It is sufficiently clear that these are not the substance of the character. 1901 Arena Sept. 272 Popular recall, full education, and all the measures needful to protect the form and substance of democracy. 2007 F. T. Noonan Road to Jerusalem 283 The substance of the story had to do with the bishop's mistreatment on his way home at the hands of Adenese. II. Senses relating principally to physical matter. 7. a. That of which a physical thing consists; the essential (esp. solid) material of which a body is formed and in virtue of which it possesses certain properties.In quot. a1393: the material of which God shaped created things.fifth substance: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > bodily substance > [noun] loamc725 flesh and fellc1000 fleshtimbera1225 flesh and blooda1340 powderc1350 substancec1350 claya1400 paste1645 corporeity1647 muscle1819 tissue1834 the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > material matter1340 substancec1350 subject matter1535 making1623 material1624 substratuma1676 materiality1811 hypostase1867 materiature1881 c1350 Athanasian Creed (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) 195 He his God, of þe substaunce of þe fader biȝeten to-fore þe worldes; & man, of þe substaunce [L. ex substantia] of þe moder born in þe world. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 211 The hihe pourveance Tho hadde under his ordinance A gret substance, a gret matiere, Of which he wolde..These othre thinges make and forme. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vi. xx. 321 Mete is substaunce þat is abil to be iturned into þe substaunce of þe body þat is ifed. ?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 159, in Middle Eng. Dict. at Substaunce Repercussiue medicynes..maie be made of enye of þes aforseide, & alle þe substaunce of eche bi hym selfe oþer of hem alle to gidere. c1484 (a1475) J. de Caritate tr. Secreta Secret. (Takamiya) (1977) 146 Metys..and drynkys..with sqwyche as þe substauns of hys body hath most be refreschyd with. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 43 The matter and substaunce of mans body. 1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 3 b Swords of conuenient length, forme and substance, haue been in all ages esteemed by all warlike Nations. 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xliv. sig. D2 If the dull substance of my flesh were thought, Iniurious distance should not stop my way. View more context for this quotation 1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. iv. 73 Stalk..of a woody substance... Head or spike..having a soft downy substance. 1719 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher II. xix. iv. 463 The said Earth being dried..had not lost above two Ounces of its Substance. 1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 4 It became necessary..to appropriate to individuals not the immediate use only, but the very substance of the thing to be used. 1829 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Plants 1023 Epiphyllous scattered globular or subdepressed smooth pale at length black, Substance very corneous. 1846 W. S. Landor Citation & Exam. Shakespere in Wks. II. 265 Give a countryman a plough of silver and he will plough with it all the season, and never know its substance. 1859 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám lxi. 13 Surely not in vain My Substance from the common Earth was ta'en. 1927 F. Balfour-Browne Insects iv. 101 The nucleus of the spermatozoon enters and fuses with that of the egg, which, however, first throws off some of its substance, which forms the ‘polar bodies’. 1988 A. C. Clarke 2061 96 As the comet blasted its substance away into space at each perihelion passage, its mass distribution constantly altered. b. That of which something incorporeal is considered to consist. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence > that by which anything subsists substancec1440 essencec1585 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ii. ii. 59 An aungel is substancia intellectual, alwey meuable, fre and bodiles, seruinge God by grace and not bi kynde.] c1440 (?a1396) W. Hilton in G. G. Perry Eng. Prose Treat. (1921) 17 By abowndance of charite þat es in þe substance of the saule. c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 768 Euery spech that ys yspoken..In his substaunce ys but aire. a1500 (a1475) G. Ashby Dicta Philosophorum l. 234 in Poems (1899) 53 A kynge sholde take of his olde acquaintance, His familier seruauntes vertuous,..of Substance, Wele disposed, trewe, not malicious. 1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. iv. 99 Dreames..Begot of nothing but vaine fantasie, Which is as thinne a substance as the aire. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 585 Hard thou knowst it to exclude Spiritual substance with corporeal barr. View more context for this quotation 1682 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) II. 311 I..am sorry that my Sonne should Be composed of such substance that nothing can shape Him for a Schollar. 1740 G. Cheyne Ess. Regimen 35 That spiritual Substance was analogous to Matter infinitely rarefied, refin'd or sublim'd. 1796 Ess. by Soc. of Gentlemen Exeter 105 It is probable that the Cadomim made no essential alteration in the substance of the language. 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. i. iii. §20. 63 When, instead of the extent of consciousness, we consider its substance. 1907 L. G. Beekman Outl. Swedenborg's Cosmol. i. 12 The image which manifests the inmost action of love, of love as a substance. 1995 M. Gieri Contemp. Ital. Filmmaking: Strategies of Subversion 157 Laughter, then, is a flimsy substance. 8. a. Any particular kind of matter with uniform properties (without regard to something that it is part of, and so distinguished from sense 7a). As a count and mass noun.food substance: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > matter or corporeal substance > a kind of matter thingOE matter1340 substancea1393 corsec1420 gear1489 massa1550 quality1583 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 141 Of man, of beste,..Of fissch, of foughl, of everychon That ben of bodely substance. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 22 Som oþer strange substance [L. substantiam] like vnto hony. ?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens ii. sig. Eiv [The nose] is of thre substaunces, that is to wyt of substaunce flesshely, bony, and cartilagynous. 1597 King James VI & I Daemonologie (1924) 47 The Deuilles parte therein, is but the naked carrying or expelling of that substance [sc. semen]. 1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. xiv. 123 Our designe requireth more maniable substances. 1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. ii. x. 259 Grain or some Vegetable, baked in a drier substance without any considerable mixture. 1736 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Spiders 73 The thorax seem'd cas'd with another kind of substance than the belly. 1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth I. 75 This variety of substances, which compose the internal parts of our globe. 1802 W. Paley Nat. Theol. v. 65 That sort of substance which we call animal substance, as flesh, bone,..cartilage, &c. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 91 When a varnish of any kind is laid over a substance, to prevent it from absorbing water, some allowance should be made for such addition. 1839 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. (ed. 3) 472 Corky..; having the texture of the substance called cork. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. v. 250 Thus, from the mixture of two perfectly transparent substances, we obtain an opaque one. 1920 Jrnl. Amer. Inst. Criminal Law & Criminol. 11 142 A finger-print is merely the marks upon a substance made by the pressure of the finger. 1998 H. H. Guyer Industr. Processes & Waste Stream Managem. iv. 113/1 The containment vessel must be made of a substance that is transparent to UV light wavelengths. 2003 MARPOL: How to do It (Internat. Maritime Organization) (rev. ed.) v. xix. 95 While these technologies can locate a potential oil or chemical slick, they cannot positively identify the type of substance floating on the water. †b. A piece or mass of a particular kind of matter; a whole object made more or less uniformly of some kind of matter. Obsolete.Possible later examples should probably be interpreted in sense 8a. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > materiality > [noun] > thing or material object thingOE bodya1398 objecta1398 substance1525 cheat1567 solidity1604 article1618 material objecta1651 res extensa1652 extensum1678 businessa1684 animal1729 materiate1755 affair1763 thingy1787 fellow1816 concern1824 jockey1827 toy1895 yoke1910 doojigger1927 bitch1951 1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. xv. sig. D.i^v/1 Whan ye haue dressyd a wounde w^t the drynke [= drying] substances afore namyd, & that it wyll nat staunche, than it is necessarie for to remedy the cowrs of y^e bledynge [no direct equivalent in Ger. original]. c1595 Capt. Wyatt in G. F. Warner Voy. R. Dudley to W. Indies (1899) 56 In the night a substance of fyre resemblinge the shape of a fierie Dragon should fall into our sailes and theare remaine some quarter of an ower. 1681 P. Bellon tr. F. de Monginot New Myst. Physick Introd. 32 Set the Water in a cold place, in a Glass Body, within eight Days, you will find a congealed Substance in the Bottom of the Vessel. 1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at White-Honey-Charge Continue boiling till the Roots and Herbs be reduced to a Mash..throwing away the gross Substance. 1799 H. Lee Canterbury Tales (ed. 2) I. 351 Throwing from him, without examination, some hard substance that incommoded him. c. spec. A kind of matter of a definite chemical composition, as a compound or element. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > [noun] thingeOE substancea1550 body1594 magnesium chloride1866 magnesium sulphate1871 a1550 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Bodl. e Mus.) f. 63^v That oiles substaunce..Ramond lully did call his basilicke, of which he never made so playne detectione. 1582 S. Batman Vppon Bartholome, De Proprietatibus Rerum xv. clxi. f. 242^v/1 And there are solempne mountaines, in the which stones be digged, the which being stronglye resolued by fire, turne into the substance of brasse. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Nitre Niter; a (Salt-resembling) substance of colour light-ruddie, or white. a1696 R. Plot in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) (1698) 20 183 The Mineral Substance, called, Black Lead..found only at Keswick in Cumberland, and there called, Wadt, or Kellow. 1718 J. Quincy Pharmacopœia Officinalis 8 The last is what is forced from Vinegar, Vitriol, and such like acid Substances. 1784 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 74 141 There is the utmost reason to think, that dephlogisticated and phlogisticated air..are quite distinct substances, and not differing only in their degree of phlogistication. 1843 J. A. Smith Productive Farming (ed. 2) 11 The number of simple, or elementary substances, at present known..is fifty-four. 1864 Intell. Obs. No. 32. 93 A new substance..to which I gave the name Santoneine. 1954 Adv. in Carbohydrate Chem. 9 186 This substance, called Indian Yellow, was once an important pigment. 1984 A. C. Duxbury & A. Duxbury Introd. World's Oceans iv. 134 Water was not a simple element but a substance made up of hydrogen and oxygen. 2009 P. Manning Chem. Bonds 49 The formation of ions explains how a poisonous gas can combine with a highly reactive metal to form the white, crystalline substance called table salt. d. An intoxicant or stimulant, such as a drug, alcohol, etc., which may be abused or used recreationally. Cf. Compounds 1.Recorded earliest in substance abuse n. at Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] drug1668 stuporific1853 candy1925 spike1934 shit1946 juice1957 street drug1967 substance1967 dadah1980 product1983 1967 Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) 12 Apr. 14/2 The incidence of ‘substance abuse’ in Long Beach schools is surprisingly small. 1974 Bennington (Vermont) Banner 5 June 4/7 Isn't it time we stopped the wild accusations and begin to examine the reasons why our culture uses so many substances? 1984 Jrnl. Substance Abuse Treatm. 2 i. 5/1 Research has demonstrated the presence of neuropsychological impairment in chronic abusers of CNS depressants, including alcohol, as well as opiates and possibly cocaine, especially when such substances are combined in a polydrug pattern of abuse. 1995 Independent 8 Feb. 5/2 The picture of almost universal drug abuse within Styal is unprecedented in a jail—although the general availability of just about every kind of substance throughout the prison system has been a concern for years. 2004 R. Daniels Nursing Fund. xxx. 742/1 The nurse who is abusing substances often takes elaborate steps to hide it in the workplace. 9. a. The matter of which (a part of) the body of an animal is composed; esp. solid tissue. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > substance > [noun] substancea1398 tissue1834 biomaterial1960 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. v. 178 This humour cristallinus [of the eye]... is round in schap and substaunce [L. substantia]. c1425 tr. J. Arderne Treat. Fistula (Sloane 6) (1910) 34 Þe quitour, þerfore, bigynne to lessen somwhat, and the bolnyng somwhat to cese, and þe colour and þe substaunce of þe skynne for to turne to his ovne naturel habitude. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 34^v (MED) Þe herte haþ oonly blood in his substaunce. 1535 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (rev. ed.) v. xiv. f. xli^v/2 For yf they [sc. the chekes] ben moche roddy and medled with temperat whitenes, and not fat in substance but meanly flesshy: they token hote and moyst complexion. 1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. N.j Then come we to Longaon, otherwise called, The tayle gutte, whose substance is panniculer, as of al the other bowels. 1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια iv. xiii. 231 The branches of this Hypogastricall veine being entred the substance of the wombe do mingle themselues with the vpper braunches proceeding from the spermaticall. 1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) ii. ix. 117 The Vena arteriosa..is just like the Aorta in substance, largeness, neighbourhood, and Valves. 1724 R. Blackmore Treat. Consumptions 9 An extraordinary Discharge of Flegmatick Matter,..while..the Substance of the Lungs remains sound. 1792 T. Kirkland Comm. Apoplectic & Paralytic Affections 175 We will beg leave to inquire what end is answered by making the paralytic part red in this complaint, when owing to a defect in the substance of the brain. 1804 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. 178 Blood was discharged mixed with detached pieces of the substance of the brain. 1845 G. Budd On Dis. Liver 347 Irregular dilatation of the sac, so as to form additional pouches in the substance of the liver. 1922 Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp. 33 51/2 Old ulcerative processes had led to loss of substance of the cranial and other bones. 1949 H. W. C. Vines Green's Man. Pathol. (ed. 17) xxxviii. 1095 Hæmorrhage into the substance of the cord is..usually due to injury. 2008 Med. Knowl. Self-assessment Program Students 4 (American College Physicians) 131/2 CT does not adequately show the substance of the spinal cord. b. Originally: flesh, esp. as that which is lost in a large or gaping wound. In later use also: muscle (and occasionally also bone), as providing strength to the body, esp. in a horse or dog. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > bodily substance > flesh > [noun] fleshc1000 lirec1000 quick flesha1382 pulp?a1425 substance?a1425 meat1829 beef1851 ?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 93, in Middle Eng. Dict. at Substaunce Þer ben oþire woundes wiþ deperdicioun of substaunce in þe whiche þer is superflue fleische schewynge wiþ oute and excedinge. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 125 (MED) In þe cure of a wounde wiþ lost of substaunce, þe bisynesse is diuers aftir þe diuersite of her makynge. 1565 J. Hall Hist. Expost. in tr. Lanfranc Most Excellent Woorke Chirurg. 61 Medicines Conglutinatyues, are suche as gather together the lippes of woundes, wherin ther is no losse of substance. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 657 Thir armor help'd thir harm, crush't in and brus'd Into thir substance pent. View more context for this quotation 1695 W. W. Novum Lumen Chirurgicum Extinctum 23 Any Flesh-Wound where there is considerable loss of Substance. 1750 Lady Luxborough Let. 13 May in Lett. to W. Shenstone (1775) 204 My plaisters are already reduced..to two only: one over my eye,..and one just above my knee, where the loss of substance (as they call it) makes it longer in curing. 1831 W. Youatt Horse iv. 36 A three-fourth, or thoroughbred horse of sufficient substance and height. 1862 Retrospect Pract. Med. & Surg. 44 238 In a large gap, where the loss of substance is to be measured by square inches, no person could expect union by simply paring the edges and drawing them together by the interrupted suture. 1894 Nature's Method in Evol. Life iii. 45 The nervous system becomes highly strung,..and the muscles deficient in size, with a general want of what is known as ‘substance’. 1910 Dog Fancier 19 40/3 (advt.) A direct grandson of the world famous sire and winner,..and has all of his characteristics with greater substance. 1953 Nash's Surg. Physiol. (rev. ed.) v. 134 Healing by secondary intention appears in those wounds in which there is an actual loss of substance. 1970 A. C. L. Hardman Amateur Horse Breeder i. 21 The mare in turn can, if she has substance herself, help to produce the bone. 2008 R. F. Burton Biomedical Calculations 162 It is well known that astronauts on the moon have reduced weights–without loss of substance. c. Anatomy and Zoology. With distinguishing word: tissue or non-cellular material of a particular kind.colloid, lung, nerve substance, etc.: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > bodily substance > [noun] > type of substance1578 1578 J. Banister Hist. Man f. 94^v Onely a Cartilaginous substaunce at the roote of the great arterie, towardes the arteriall veyne is sene. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 192 The Cartilaginous Substance of the Ribs,..by this means was crowded in, that it made a notable Cavity. 1753 Philos. Trans. 1751–2 (Royal Soc.) 47 261 The semilunar cartilages, mucilaginous glands, and the adipose substance,..were all moisten'd with sinophia. 1815 J. Gordon Syst. Human Anat. I. 40 Adipose substance. 1853 R. Dunglison Med. Lexicon (ed. 9) Schwann, White Substance of. 1870 W. S. Kent in Ann. Nat. Hist. Mar. 217 The sarcodic substance lining all the interstitial cavities of the sponge. 1922 W. Libby Hist. Med. 269 In considering..the brain, we must take into account not only its nervous tissue, but its membranes, vessels, and interstitial substance. 2010 R. M. Devine in A. P. Zbar & S. D. Wexner Coloproctology 86/2 Nishie et al. described the use of..MR imaging to demonstrate the presence of keratinous substance within a dermoid cyst. d. Botany. The matter of which (a part of) a plant or fungus is composed; (in later use also) the tissue providing structure and bulk to the plant or a part of it (the quantity of which is frequently regarded as a measure of vigour or quality). ΘΚΠ the world > plants > part of plant > cell or aggregate tissue > [noun] > tissue substance1650 tissue1837 syntagma1882 tagma1885 1650 E. Williams Virginia's Discov. Silke-worms 5 Yet to prevent the too grosse substance of the leafe after the tree by the advantage of a rich nourishment. 1777 S. Robson Brit. Flora 15 Bullate, the substance of the leaf rising high above the veins, so as to appear like little blisters. 1793 T. Martyn Lang. Bot. sig. T2^v The substance of a vegetable consists of the Epidermis or Cuticle, covering the Cortex or Outer Bark. 1876 Trans. & Proc. Bot. Soc. Pennsylvania 1 339 These suspensory strands are of the same material and in every way identical with the substance of the axial filament. 1893 Garden & Forest 28 June 278/2 Mr Fay's Roses were of fair size,..well-colored, with good foliage, but, as a rule, lacked substance. 1902 Jrnl. Hort., Cottage Gardener & Home Farmer 11 Dec. 536/1 Well-ripened plants have plenty of substance in them, and can easily keep going. 1930 Misc. Publ. No. 109 (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 8 A part of the water is then used in producing the increasing substance of the tree. 1971 Times 21 Apr. 6/7 A shapely white trumpet daffodil is ‘Cortina’, with a broadly crimped and rolled back trumpet of good substance. 2010 K. G. Shadrack & M. Shadrack Bk. of Little Hostas iv. 151 (caption) The very thick substance of the leaves allows this plant to take more sun than expected. †10. The consistency of a fluid; viscosity. Usually with of. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > liquid > [noun] > qualities of liquid > consistency substancea1398 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. xlii. 1305 Hoot and druye complexioun..wiþ mene substaunce [L. substantia] maketh salt sauour. And hoote and druye..wiþ þikke substaunce [L. substantia] makeþ bitter. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 30^v (MED) Fleume..in þe substance of it..is made aquous. a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 166 Take he[de] on watyr, and on yse, and on snow; how þay ben ych on dyverse in substance, and ȝet þay ben but watyr. ?1541 R. Copland Maner to Examyne Lazares in Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens sig. Rj Whan it [sc. blood] is drawen, consydre the substance and the colour yf it be so as is abouesayde. 1692 W. Salmon Medicina Practica 36/1 By reason they are of thin Substance and parts, their heat is quickly discussed. 1738 G. Smith tr. Laboratory iv. 120 To the Substance of a thin Paste. 11. figurative. a. Something that is solid or real (as opposed to and often contrasted with appearance, †semblance, shadow, etc.). Also: reality. Cf. semblance n. 4a, shadow n. 6a. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > reality or real existence or actuality > [noun] > the reality as opposed to what is apparent bodyc1384 truth1531 substance1533 person1548 effect1592 hypostasis1605 reality1620 reala1637 essence1646 hypostase1867 1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani xxxi. sig. Q.viij^v This lyfe vanissheth awaye faster than smoke, lesse of substaunce than a shadowe [L. umbra inanior]. 1576 A. Fleming tr. Hippocrates in Panoplie Epist. 281 The ignoraunce of the world is grosse & palpable: for, touching Nature their skill is but superficiall, and like a shadowe destitute of substaunce. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. ix. sig. V3 Full liuely is the semblaunt, though the substance dead. a1616 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus (1623) iii. ii. 79 He takes false shadowes, for true substances. 1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxxi. 186 A Common-wealth, without Soveraign Power, is but a word, without substance. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 529 With high words, that bore Semblance of worth not substance . View more context for this quotation 1716 S. W. in Nelson's Pract. True Devot. (1784) p. xvi Taught how to take the mystic Bread and Wine, T'adore the Substance, nor neglect the Sign. 1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 527 The poet's hand, Imparting substance to an empty shade, Impos'd a gay delirium for a truth. 1836 F. Marryat Japhet III. ix. 100 I would not lose the substance by running after shadows. 1856 C. Merivale Hist. Romans under Empire V. l. 580 A mere honorary title, and only a presage of the substance that was to follow. 1914 Daily Chron. 28 July 6/3 The Austro-Hungarian communiqué..argues..that Servia conceded the shadows and withheld the substance. 2005 S. Rushdie Shalimar the Clown (2006) 178 They immediately put on their gravest expressions with every appearance (and none of the substance) of obedience. b. Westminster School. An older pupil who is charged with the responsibility for ensuring that a new boy (his ‘shadow’: see shadow n. 8c) learns the conduct and duties expected of him within the school. Now historical. ΘΚΠ society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > pupil at specific school > at other specific schools substance1811 Grecian1813 gown-boy1853 Rug1856 1811 Scourge 1 Nov. 419 The main principle of the new system might have been discovered in the practice of the Hindoos. More than the use of monitors among ourselves, or the custom of some of our public schools, of placing a new-comer under the care of a substance. 1845 College & T.B. Life at Westm. 25 Oct. After my first week at School, I started altogether on my own account, my Substance then having nothing more to do with me. 1899 W. K. R. Bedford Outcomes Old Oxf. 85 Every neophyte was consigned to the tutelage of some boy already in the school... The shortcomings of the shadow, or tyro, were credited to the preceptor, or substance, and visited with penalties upon the latter. 1902 R. Airy Westminster v. 89 In their second year they..are expected to show the new juniors their way about and teach them their several duties. This custom finds a counterpart in the ‘substance’ and ‘shadow’, of the boarding-houses. 2005 M. Kustow Peter Brook i. i. 11 When he [sc. Brook] first arrived at Westminster School, he recalls being accosted by an archetypal master-race prefect called ‘Brown’..who pronounced the Pirandellian sentence, ‘You're my shadow; I'm your substance.’ III. Senses relating to quantity, possessions, wealth. 12. a. One's material possessions or the value assigned to these; goods, estate; means, wealth. Now somewhat archaic. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > a person's collective property or substance thingOE chattela1240 cattlec1275 i-wonc1275 moneya1325 tilea1325 statec1330 thrifta1350 substancea1382 chevance1477 graith?a1513 estate1563 wortha1586 thrive1592 fortune1596 store1600 boodle1699 circumstancea1704 the mind > possession > wealth > wealth or riches > [noun] wealc888 ednessa1200 richessea1200 richdomc1225 richesses?c1225 wealtha1275 richesc1275 winc1275 warison1297 wonea1300 merchandisec1300 aver1330 richesc1330 substancea1382 abundancec1384 suffisance1390 talenta1400 pelf?a1505 opulence?1518 wealthsa1533 money bag1562 capital1569 opulency1584 affluency1591 affluence1593 exuberance1675 nabobism1784 money1848 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. iii. 9 Honoure the Lord of thi substaunce [L. de tua substantia]. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xv. 13 He wastide his substaunce [L. substantiam; Gk. οὐσίαν] in lyuynge leccherously. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 9537, l. 9538 Of his substance he gaf ilk-an, And ilk-an gaf he substance an. c1460 (a1449) J. Lydgate Legend St. Austin (Harl. 2255) l. 8 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 193 Abel..Gaff God his part, tenthe of his substaunce. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job i. 3 His substaunce was vij. M. shepe, iij. M. camels, v. C. yock of oxen, v. C. she asses, and a very greate housholde. a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) i. i. 23 Thy substance, valued at the highest rate, Cannot amount vnto a hundred Markes. View more context for this quotation 1685 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 484 Innumerable persons of the greatest birth, & riches, leaving all their earthly substance. 1744 S. Fielding Adventures David Simple I. i. viii. 56 It was possible for one Man to be continually rejoicing.., and declaring he had the best of Wives, altho' she spent all his Substance. 1798 W. Wordsworth Female Vagrant in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 72 Till all his [sc. my father's] substance fell into decay. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 156 A fortune raised out of the substance of the ruined defenders of the throne. 1908 Scott. Hist. Rev. Apr. 270 Nor did the country towns boast any brightly dressed shop windows to lure the domestic of those days to waste her substance on fripperies. 2007 J. McCourt Now Voyagers iii. 95 Prosper Swithin had only very recently come through..a more difficult time,..his substance wasted on fairs and fiestas, jigs and reels. †b. As a count noun: an amount of wealth, a fortune; (in plural) riches, possessions. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] goodeOE auchtOE havingc1350 facultya1382 substancea1382 propertya1393 haviourc1400 suffisantee1436 aversc1440 propriety1442 livinga1450 goodess1523 gear1535 prog1727 the mind > possession > wealth > wealth or riches > [noun] > an amount of wealth substancea1382 fortune1596 pile1836 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xli. 1 Hauende pes in his substaunces [a1425 L.V. richessis; L. substantiis]. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Heb. x. 34 Knowynge ȝou for to haue a betere and dwelling substaunce [L. substantiam; Gk. ὕπαρξιν]. 1487 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1487 §18. m. 10 Wymmen..havyng substaunces, somme in goodes moveable and somme in landes and tenements. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries Pref. sig. Av^v Whose brother for the education of youth in true Religion and learning, imploied a wonderful substaunce. 1617 B. Rich Irish Hubbub 47 It is a small substance, that cannot afford some pittance [for the poor]. 1688 P. Rycaut tr. G. de la Vega Royal Comm. Peru (new ed.) vi. ii. 187 The Indians..thought it a Prophanation to have that Wealth and Substances which was Dedicated to their Kings, to be converted to the common benefit and use of Strangers. 1733 J. Tull Horse-hoing Husbandry xi. 65 A most sincere Honest Yeoman..from a small Substance he began with, left behind him about Forty Thousand Pound. †13. a. Maintenance, (means of) subsistence. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > [noun] victualsa1375 substancec1384 repasta1393 kitchenc1400 tablec1405 stuff1436 acates1465 acatry1522 victualling1532 provision1555 achates1570 plate1577 avitaile1592 support1599 horn and corn1633 subsistence1640 cribbing1652 purvey1678 commissariat1811 ration1814 commissary1883 the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > provision of means of support or livelihood substancec1384 maintenance1389 sustenance1389 sustentation1389 sustaining1395 findingc1400 uphold1439 retainment1449 exhibition?a1475 entertainment?c1475 upholdingc1480 entertaininga1492 sustenation1496 support1561 alimentation1590 alimony1622 enablement1626 subsisting1698 keep1801 life support1852 palimony1977 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. vi. 11 Ȝif to vs this day oure breed ouer other substaunce [L. supersubstantialem; Gk. τὸν ἐπιούσιον]. c1400 Comm. on Canticles (Bodl. 288) in T. Arnold Sel. Eng. Wks. J. Wyclif (1871) III. 67 (MED) Sees gendren manye fischis to substaunce of mankynde. 1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) i. iii. sig. c.i ^v It is not gyuen to hym for substaunce or refeccyon [printed reteccyon] corporell. a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. clxx. f. lxxxxvii All thynges that before tyme were gyuen to Abbeys were than more wasted in Glotony and outrage of owners Than in Substaunce and ayde of nedy men. b. A supply or provision of (something). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > supply > [noun] > that which is supplied > a supply purveyance1340 substance?c1425 providencec1450 provisionc1451 furnish1500 supply1567 reply?1592 purvey?1615 product1647 sorting1785 ?c1425 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Royal 17 D.vi) (1860) 176 Yf a man, in tyme of suche a nede, Of his goode yeue you a gode substaunce. c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 1560 Iason weddit was Vn-to this queen & tok of it substaunce What so hym leste onto his puruyaunce. 1515 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 79 The said Towne [was] then in better substaunce of goodis good ordre and rule then it is nowe. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Eccl. ii. 7 As for catell and shepe, I had more substaunce of them, then all they y^t were before me. 14. a. The greater number or part, the majority, mass, or bulk of (people, things, etc.). See also sum and substance at Phrases 3. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [noun] > greater number, majority moeOE unfewc1175 most?a1400 most forcea1400 substancea1413 overmatch1542 flush1592 the (great, vast) mass of1604 the millions1604 stream1614 numbers1638 the multiplicity of1639 majority1650 the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a great part or proportion > the greater part, the majority the more partOE the best part ofOE (the) more parta1350 (the) most parta1350 (the) most part alla1350 (the) most party1372 for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387 the better part ofa1393 the mo?a1400 most forcea1400 substancea1413 corsec1420 generalty?c1430 the greater partc1430 three quartersc1470 generalityc1485 the most feck1488 corpse1533 most1553 nine-tenths?1556 better half1566 generality?1570 pluralityc1570 body1574 the great body (of)1588 flush1592 three fourths1600 best1601 heap1609 gross1625 lump1709 bulk1711 majority1714 nineteen in twenty1730 balance1747 sweighta1800 heft1816 chief1841 the force1842 thick end1847 a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) iv. l. 217 It moste ben and sholde, For substaunce of þe parlement it wolde. 1462 J. Russe in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 285 The substaunce of jentilmen and yemen of Lodynglond be assygnid to be afore the seyd commesyonerez. 1512 Act 4 Hen. VIII c. 1 §1 The said Countie [sc. Cornwall] is thre score and ten myle in lenght and the substaunce therof right litle more than six myle in brede. 1552–3 Act 7 Edw. VI c. 12 The Kynges Majesties Treasure..waasted, the greate Substaunce of the Moneyes molted and altered in bayse coyne. 1604 J. Hind Most Excellent Hist. Lysimachus & Varrona sig. B1^v [Alexandro] thought now..to distribute in their portions the substance of his wealth for the countercheck of pouertie. 1753 True Briton 17 Jan. 43 On Sunday the 17th Mr. Justice Burnet, of the Court of Common Pleas, died at his House in Lincoln's Inn-Fields, and has given the Substance of his Fortune to his Nephews. 1821 Drama or Theatr. Pocket Mag. Aug. 199 Sir Omnium learns that his agent in town has decamped with the substance of his fortune. 1967 J. T. McNeill Hist. & Char. Calvinism 193 A number of the refugees helped, and the patriotic (if not puritanic) Bonivard devoted the substance of his wealth to this good cause. †b. The amount, quantity, or mass (of something). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun] metc1225 mountancec1330 amountancec1380 mountenancec1385 quantityc1392 quantitya1398 substance1435 mountenessea1450 mountc1475 number1477 feck1488 quantum1602 valour1631 amount1668 amt.1744 volume1882 1435 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1435 §22. m. 3 Ther been diverses persones..that custumabely shippen..notable substance of wolle and wollefelles. c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) l. 764 (MED) When Vertew sy the substaunce of hys oost, He prayed all the comons to the felde hem hy. a1509 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 87 in Parl. Papers 1906 (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 A vessaill called the Mighell of Brykelsey..in the whiche diuerse merchauntes of our Citie of London had goodes and merchandises to a grete value and substaunce. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry V f. lvij^v He found there innumerable substance of plate and money belongyng to the citezens. 1565 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 244 Raffe Vasye..oweth me for all my..muke..the substance by estimac[i]on come to or will come to..two hundrethe futhers. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 325 Be it but so much as makes it light or heauy in the substance, or the deuision of the twentith part of one poore scruple. View more context for this quotation 1696 T. Robinson New Observ. Nat. Hist. i. xx. 76 It cannot be so easily apprehended by what Power or Means this vast substance of Water shou'd be put into so high a degree of Fermentation and Commotion. 1745 S. M. Leake Hist. Acct. Eng. Money (ed. 2) 147 King Henry the Fifth ordained a mint at Calais, whereby great substance of Money of gold and silver had been brought into the realm. 15. a. The quality of being substantial or of having a solid basis in fact or reality; significance, consequence; (also) steadiness, dependability, or weight of character. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] mund?c1250 steemc1330 greatnessc1410 substancec1425 importance1485 weight1521 moment1522 weightiness1530 importancy1531 importunance1546 import1548 reckoning1582 sequel1588 ponderosity1589 valure1594 consequence1597 significance1597 circumstance1599 consequent1599 eminency1622 importmenta1625 concernment1626 consideration1634 telling1636 signification1645 considerableness1647 concerningness1657 nearness1679 significancy1679 respectability1769 interest1809 noteworthiness1852 portee1893 valency1897 the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence > substantial or solid qualities substancec1425 consistence1626 consistency1709 nature1820 c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. l. 2869 Incidentes þat bere no substaunce, Whiche were but veyn to put in remembrance. a1450 (a1397) Prol. Old Test. in Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Cambr. Mm.2.15) (1850) xv. 58 Symple men, that wolden for no good in erthe..putte awei..the leste lettre, either title, of holi writ, that berith substaunce, either charge. a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 66 (MED) Armes, subtiltees, nor good, nor nothing that any man may haue, withowt Hym is but a thin[g] voide and of no substaunce. 1559 Queen Elizabeth I in J. Strype Ann. Reformation (1709) I. ii. 414 Dyvers reasons which appeare unto me to have in them small substance. 1581 B. Rich Farewell Militarie Profession vi. sig. Tiij^v Knowyng her housebande to be a man of no verie greate substaunce, and but slenderly stuffed in the hedpeece. 1652 A. Evans Voice from Heaven 65 It is but a deceiveable lying wonder, of no substance. 1784 W. Godwin Imogen I. i. 7 Chastity..gave substance to her accents, and dignity to her gestures. 1858 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 25 Apr. in French & Ital. Notebks. (1980) iv. 183 Neither rulers nor people had any faith or moral substance. 1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea I. viii. 110 This fact gave great strength and substance to the pretensions of Russia. 1920 Americas Mar. 35/1 The latest news from Germany gives substance to the belief that that country is still far from being in shape to resume its former trade connections. 2007 S. Wales Echo (Nexis) 8 Mar. 59 It will take a man of some substance to connect with the players more tellingly than the Australian. b. The quality that makes a material firm, solid, and hard-wearing. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > [noun] > substance of substance1591 fabric1823 1591 W. Garrard & R. Hitchcock Arte of Warre i. 4 His Scowrer must be trimmed on the end with a Lynnen cloth of a sufficient substance, therewith to make cleane the cannon of hys Peece within. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Corps,..(in cloth, or stuffe) substance, tacke, stuffinesse. 1685 G. Clarke Treat. Wool & Cattel 17 Causes of the low Price of our Wool.., to wit, the not making of our Cloth of that size and substance as it ought to be. 1760 R. Symmer in Philos. Trans. 1759 (Royal Soc.) 51 370 [It is necessary] that the stockings be of silk; one of a good black, the other of a clear white; and both of the same size and substance. 1833 H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. ii. 21 You must learn from the French to give your fabrics more substance. 1915 Home Needlewk. Mag. Jan. 29/1 Whichever is used, as there is very little substance to the material, it is well to baste it along the stamped line before cutting away. 2004 L. Kimmelstiel Exquisite Little Knits 131 The second fiber gives this lovely lacelike piece enough substance and warmth to make it an all-weather accessory. IV. Senses relating to the significant or vital part of something. 16. a. The subject or matter addressed in a study, discourse, written work, etc.; the subject matter, theme.In some cases difficult to distinguish from sense 17a. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > [noun] thingeOE evenOE questionc1225 purposec1350 themec1380 mattera1387 reasonc1390 substancea1393 chapter1393 occasion1426 titlec1450 intentc1460 article1531 place1532 scope1549 subject1563 argumenta1568 string1583 matter subject1586 subject matter1587 qu.1608 haunt1622 seat1628 object matter1653 business1655 topic1728 locus1753 sub1779 ground1796 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2465 (MED) Of bodies sevene in special With foure spiritz joynt withal Stant the substance of this matiere [sc. alchemy]. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 1030 (MED) Lo, fadir, tolde haue I yow þe substance Of al my greef. a1550 in R. Dyboski Songs, Carols & Other Misc. Poems (1908) 106 I dare not, for þer dissplesans, Tell of þes maters half the substance. 1587 in T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. (new ed.) (title page) Notes conteyning in briefe the substance of the matter handled in each section. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. i. 32 Vnto your Grace do I in chiefe addresse The substance of my speech. View more context for this quotation 1665 R. Boyle Disc. iii. v, in Occas. Refl. sig. D6^v This, if I forget not, was the substance of the Occasional Meditation, suggested to me by the Storm. 1734 J. Jurin Geom. No Friend to Infidelity 8 I find therefore no other way of reconciling your Title-page with the substance of your discourse. 1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 498/2 There are two Alexandrian schools, distinct both chronologically and in substance. The one is the Alexandrian school of poetry and science, the other the Alexandrian school of philosophy. 1920 H. J. Laski Polit. Thought in Eng. iii. 108 The less essential questions..are hardly now germane to the substance of the debate. 2001 Nature 29 Mar. 518/3 In other words, the SCI [= Science Citation Index] allows the systematic practice of ‘scientometrics’, which provides the substance of much of this book. b. Contrasted with the manner in which this subject matter is presented or expressed. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > materials of topic > [noun] > as opposed to form matter1340 stuffc1450 substancec1475 subject matter1583 c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 538 Yif ought be wrong in metre or in substaunce, Putteth the wyte for dulnesse on Lydgate. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie v. 20 Eloquution..is annexed vnto the stile, which euermore is also tyed to the argument and substaunce of euerye Epistle. 1644 W. Strode Serm. Swearing 9 Our Saviour bars not the substance of Swearing but the manner. 1735 J. Besse Protestant Flail ii. 24 The Declaration which John made them, was both in Substance and Expression the same which Malachi the Prophet had long before declar'd concerning Christ. 1780 Mirror No. 80 Having thus done justice to the merit of those authors in point of substance, I proceed to shew their excellence in the composition and style of their productions. 1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iii. §8. 29 This influence we may believe to have extended sometimes to the very words of the Revelation, but far more often only to the substance of it. 1877 R. W. Dale Nine Lect. Preaching v. 118 The substance of our preaching has been given to us in a Divine revelation. 1962 Listener 13 Sept. 406/2 After Mr Kokoschka's verve and spontaneity our average spoken word sounds..insipid both in substance and expression. 1992 W. McGowan Only Man is Vile (1993) ix. 172 Although Tamil scholars had dismissed the substance of the Mahavamsa and other Sinhalese chronicles as ‘nothing but a tangled web of cleverly contrived fiction’, they had absorbed the form. 17. a. That which is embodied in a statement; the meaning or purport of what is expressed in writing or speech; the gist or essential meaning of an account. Also contrasted with the manner in which this is presented or expressed. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun] sentence?c1225 intent1303 tenora1387 intendment1390 strengthc1390 porta1393 meaningc1395 process1395 continencea1398 purposec1400 substance1415 purport1422 matterc1450 storyc1450 containing1477 contenu1477 retinue1484 fecka1500 content1513 drift1526 intention1532 vein1543 importing1548 scope1549 importance1552 course1553 force1555 sense?1556 file1560 intelliment?1562 proporta1578 preport1583 import1588 importment1602 carriage1604 morala1616 significancy1641 amount1678 purview1688 sentiment1713 capacity1720 spirit1742 message1828 thrust1968 messaging1977 1415 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. I. 47 Yf heny of thes persones..woldyn contrary ye substaunce of yat i have wretyn at zys tyme. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. xxv. sig. h. 6 Yf ye wyl here and wel reteyne the mater and substaunce of this present booke. 1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) i. ii. sig. b.i ^v I shal put the substaunce of the latyn afore sayd in englysshe. 1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 17 So farre as I gather by the substance of your letters, a certaine kinde of suspicion is signified. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. i. 9 I haue receiu'd New dated letters from Northumberland, Their cold intent, tenure, and substance thus. View more context for this quotation 1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures lxxix. 321 All of them together, seeming to be Merchants sons,..sung in verse with a very sweet and melodious voyce, words of this substance, ‘High and mighty Lord’ [etc.]. a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1670 (1955) III. 557 This being the substance of what she told me. 1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 233 The substance of the Epigram imports, That Thespis was the first contriver of Tragedy. 1728 J. Rogers Vindic. Civil Establishm. Relig. 18 His long invidious Declamations on these Topicks, which make the Substance of his Letter, are groundless and impertinent. 1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. vi. 155 Who repeated the substance of what had passed between Montoni and herself. 1837 Baroness Bunsen in A. J. C. Hare Life & Lett. Baroness Bunsen (1879) I. x. 461 The whole substance of his communications proved a state of vicious disorganization. 1867 J. Ruskin Time & Tide iii. §9 The substance of what I said to them was this. 1903 J. Bryce Stud. in Contemp. Biogr. 285 He made each step so certain that he seldom required to reinvestigate a point or to change, in revising for the press, the substance of what he had written. 1964 ‘N. Blake’ Sad Variety iv. 36 You must on no account tell them about the substance of this conversation. 2009 L. F. Edwards People & their Peace ii. iv. 113 When doubts arose about testimony, they usually involved the credibility of the speakers, rather than the substance of what they said. †b. The main intent or purpose. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object > chief substance1606 great shot1644 1606 G. Chapman Gentleman Vsher iv. sig. F4 To execute the substance of our mindes, In honor'd nuptialls. †18. The vital, principal, or most necessary part of something. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > essential or central pitheOE effectc1405 substancec1450 kernel1556 nick1577 keystone1641 vitals1657 narrow1702 secret1738 ganglion1828 nub1833 primality1846 keyword1848 knub1864 buzzword1946 in word1964 the world > life > source or principle of life > vital principle > [noun] souleOE lifeOE spiritusOE bloodOE ghostOE life and soulOE quickship?c1225 quicknessc1230 breatha1300 spirita1325 spark1382 naturec1385 sparkle1388 livelinessa1398 rational soula1398 spiracle1398 animal spirit?a1425 vital spiritc1450 soul of the world1525 candle1535 fire1576 three souls1587 vitality?1592 candlelight1596 substance1605 vivacity1611 animality1615 vividity1616 animals1628 life spring1649 archeus1651 vital1670 spirituosity1677 springs of life1681 microcosmetor1684 vital force1702 vital spark (also flame)1704 stamen1718 vis vitae1752 prana1785 Purusha1785 jiva1807 vital force1822 heartbeat1828 world-soul1828 world-spirit1828 life energy1838 life force1848 ghost soul1869 will to live1871 biogen1882 ki1893 mauri1897 élan vital1907 orgone1942 c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 233 ‘The kingis sone’, sche seide, ‘is deed, Þe ioie, þe substaunce of my lijfe.’ 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus i. i. 371 Deare father, soule and substance of vs all. View more context for this quotation 1605 1st Pt. Jeronimo sig. B^v Come my soules spaniell, my lifes ietty substance. Phrases P1. in substance. (Cf. substantially adv.) a. In reality; in actual fact. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb] > in reality in substancea1393 indeed1412 in realitya1513 in nature1605 solidly1625 under the skin (also skins)1896 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. l. 2563 To receive Bothe in substance and in figure Of gold and selver the nature. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. x. sig. f8 Wyth the watre of this fontayne is the bame watred, and of this water may not be employed ne born in to other place, ffor in substaunce it doth nomore than other water. 1548 R. Crowley Confut. Mishapen Aunswer sig. A.iv^v Other wise then the cup was the newe testament or couenaunt established by hys bloude shed on the crosse, that is to saye in significacion and not in substaunce. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 775 Hee the future evil shall no less In apprehension then in substance feel Grievous to bear. View more context for this quotation 1797 E. Burke Remarks Policy Allies in Three Memorials on French Affairs 174 We know that the Monarchy did not survive the Hierarchy, no not even in appearance, for many months; in substance, not for a single hour. a1868 C. Harpur Poet. Wks. (1984) 106 Not in seeming, but in substance free, To God, as monarch, only bend the knee. 1989 G. Steiner Real Presences i. vi. 27 Originality is antithetical to novelty. The etymology of the word alerts us. It tells of ‘inception’ and of ‘instauration’, of a return, in substance and in form, to beginnings. †b. In general; generally speaking. Obsolete.In Middle English poetry used, esp. by Lydgate, as a metrical tag. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > in general [phrase] > in general terms or not in detail in substancec1425 in gross1430 at large1533 generally speaking1549 in generality1563 in the general1584 as to the general1617 in general1621 by and large1707 in the vague1851 c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 976 (MED) Of þe charge þat he on hym leyde..Þis was þe somme pleinly, in substaunce. 1447 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Feb. 1447 §11. m. 5 In whos kepyng the bokes, sureteez and godes in substaunce holy remaigne. c1450 (?c1408) J. Lydgate Reson & Sensuallyte (1901) l. 645 In especial ther be tweyne [weyes], And thou mayst chese[n], in substaunce, Whiche ys most to thy plesaunce. a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 5881 Yt behoueth in sentence, That the fulfyllyng in substaunce To the fulle haue suffysaunce. a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) l. 1968 Now haue I here rehersid in substaunce xv kynges, As shortly as I myght, With ther powre and All ther hoole puysaunce. †c. In the main, for the most part. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > in general [phrase] > for the most part for the more party1372 for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387 for the more partc1405 for (the) most partc1405 much dealc1425 in substancea1450 for the mostc1531 in (also for) the generality1580 for the general1581 in (also for, on, upon) the maina1591 largely1594 principally1600 in chiefa1616 mainly1640 nine times (parts, etc.) out of (also in, of) ten1648 greatly1742 as a rule1828 a1450–1500 ( Libel Eng. Policy (1926) 122 By draperinge of oure wolle, in substaunce, Lyvene here comons; this is here governaunce. 1474–5 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1472 3rd Roll §43. m. 10 The which forseid .x.^th part, and .xv.^e and .x.^e..been in substaunce levied and paied. a1500 ( Bale's Chron. in R. Flenley Six Town Chron. (1911) 119 And the hertes of the comones in substaunce wer w^t þe Erle: And a geinst the seid priour. d. In essentials, substantially. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [adverb] formlyc1374 virtuallya1398 essentially1398 pithily1434 substantial1447 in substance1460 quidditativelyc1600 absolutely1654 constitutionally1766 essential1827 substantively1828 1460 G. Sperlyng in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 202 I seid nout but þat I wole abyde by, which was this in substaunce. 1491–2 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1491 §15. m. 7 All whiche matiers afore rehercid is by the seid John Hayes in substaunce confessed and knowleged. 1581 in D. Digges Compl. Ambassador (1655) 440 She used in substance the like speeches the King had done. 1601 Bp. W. Barlow Serm. Paules Crosse Martij 1600 (title page) Whereunto is annexed a true copie, in substance, of the behauiour, speache, and prayer of the said Earle at the time of his execution. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. 106 The Religion of the Persians is in substance the same with that of the Turks. 1737 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 662/1 To this it was replied in Substance as follows. 1821 T. Jefferson Writings (1830) IV. 344 I may misremember indifferent circumstances, but can be right in substance. 1857 J. Keble On Eucharistical Adoration ii. 26 Whitgift..adds, in substance, the same account of it. 1908 Progr. Modernism 118 These are, in substance, our ideas upon the origin of religion. 1999 Courier Mail (Queensland) 24 May 15 His position on east Jerusalem was no different in substance from that of his defeated right-wing predecessor. †e. In a pure or unmixed state, in the natural state. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > state or quality of being simple, unmixed, or uncompounded > simple or unmixed [phrase] in substance1614 pur sang1846 1614 W. Barclay Nepenthes sig. A7 Tabacco purgeth by slauer onelie, being taken in the mouth in substance or in smoake. 1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. ii. ii. iii. 102 Theophrastus speakes of a Shepheard that could eat Hellebor in substance. 1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. i. iv. ii. 303 A friend..would needs take Hellebor in substance. 1685 R. Boyle Reconcileableness Spec. Med. to Corpusc. Philos. 142 Some..would without scruple, take several Grains of Crude Antimony in substance. 1737 Med. Ess. & Observ. (ed. 2) II. vi. 48 Steel Spaws are every where so frequent in this Part of Scotland where I live, that to imagine them impregnated with Iron in Substance, were to conceive the whole Country in one Mine. 1853 J. W. Comfort Pract. Med. (ed. 4) 527 Peruvian bark is most active when taken in substance. †f. Perhaps (with adjectival force): real, substantial. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [adverb] in (the) bodyc1175 substantiallya1398 materiallyc1443 in substance1649 1649 J. Milton Tenure of Kings 4 When the Common wealth nigh perishes for want of deeds in substance, don with just and faithfull expedition. †g. In effect, virtually. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [adverb] > virtually in effectc1405 virtuouslya1475 virtuallya1600 equipollently1642 equivalently1644 physically1690 in substance1737 practically1749 essentially1774 1737 London Mag. Mar. 116/1 It is very unsafe for a King to allow one Man, or one Family, to ingross too much..; for by so doing he generally transfers the Royalty in Substance. 1834 H. Taylor Philip van Artevelde i. i. ii Think well What you should say; for if it must be ‘no’ In substance, you shall hardly find that form Which shall convey it pleasantly. P2. of substance. a. Of a person: possessing substantial means; well-to-do, wealthy. Chiefly of good (also great) substance, and man (also person, woman) of substance. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > wealth > rich or wealthy [phrase] > well off well at easec1330 of substance?a1439 at rack and (at) mangera1500 in good case1560 well to live1568 well and warmc1571 well to pass in the worlda1609 inlaid1699 in easy circumstancesa1704 well to do in the world1805 stouth and routh1816 quids in1919 a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) iv. l. 394 Ther was oon..Callid Camyllus, a lord of gret substaunce. 1495–6 in Hist. MSS Comm.: Rep. MSS Var. Coll. (1907) IV. 211 in Parl. Papers (Cd. 3218) LXIV. 1 Suche inhabitantes of grete substans. ?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 50 That syre of substance. a1525 ( Coventry Leet Bk. (1908) II. 435 The Comien Counceill of þe Cite & other persones of substaunce. 1553 T. Paynell tr. St. Augustine 12 Serm. ix. sig. G.viij Many..marye wemen of more nobilitie and substance, then they themselues be. 1600 H. Roberts Haigh for Deuonshire To Rdr. sig. A4 There was dwelling neer, and in the renowned City of Exeter, Totnes, Plymouth, Barnestable, and Tyuerton, many [merchants] of great substance. 1681 in Pennsylvania Arch. (1852) I. 38 Men of substance and reputation. 1716 W. Hawkins Treat. Pleas Crown I. xlii. 109 The marrying a Woman of Substance by Force, and other Offences of the like Nature, were made Felonies by 3 H7. 2. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. vii. x. 127 I had provided her a proper Match, a sober Man, and one of Substance . View more context for this quotation 1840 W. M. Thackeray Catherine xxii Hayes's father was reported to be a man of some substance. 1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone I. i. 2 My father being of good substance, at least as we reckon in Exmoor. 1882 Harper's Mag. Mar. 550/1 The administrator..has..various lands and casitas of his own—a person of substance, in fact. 1934 Times 3 Oct. 5/6 Wilson was represented as a man of considerable substance, with a suite at the Ritz Hotel. 1969 N.Y. Mag. 29 Sept. 29/3 The stylish woman of substance seemed relieved that she had been accepted. 2002 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 14 Nov. 5 He was a man of substance but never one for flashing his wealth around. b. Of something immaterial: substantial, significant, weighty. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > specifically of things of substancea1456 solid1601 ponderous1602 of the moment1814 a1456 Ld. Cromwell in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 110 There is a greet straungenesse betwix my right trusty frend John Radcliff and you, withoute any matier or cause of substaunce, as I am lerned. 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) iv. xxxiii. f. lxxxii The hygher that he is sette in estate, the more shold his wordes be of substaunce and moost of reputacion. 1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aiii Tryfelous thynges y^t were lytell to be regarded she wolde let passe by, but the other y^t were of weyght & substaunce [etc.]. 1602 R. Parsons Manifestation Great Folly iii. f. 36 What one thing of substance do they alleadge against, the sayed father, yf we set aparte, slaunders, scoffes and contumelious speaches? 1650 R. Stapleton tr. F. Strada De Bello Belgico vi. 22 In all these Punctualityes and curious Accommodations for his March, there was nothing of substance, all meerly Show and Colour. 1700 J. Adams Ess. conc. Self-murther xiii. 228 Glory..is something of substance, like solid Imagery, not the slight shadowing of fading Colours. 1779 Town & Country Mag. Jan. 38/2 He appears to have been more tenacious in points of form, than in matters of substance. 1843 O. L. Barbour Treat. Pract. Court of Chancery I. iii. iv. 603 Affidavits ought to be fairly and legibly written, in one hand, without blots or interlineations of any words of substance. 1925 Times 7 Dec. 11/1 Majority and minority reports were made differing on various points of considerable substance. 2004 J. Fellowes Snobs (2005) xviii. 276 We kissed and chatted and ordered, knowing as we did so that there was a conversation of some substance to come, but by mutual consent we waited until our first courses. †c. Of a meal: amply and nourishing. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > meal > [adjective] > qualities of meals substantial1340 simplea1387 dry1483 of substance?c1500 large1528 hearty?1550 abstemious1604 scrambling1607 running1618 lusty1672 sit-down1789 well-served1796 à la carte1816 slap-up1823 quaresimal1828 scratch1851 square1868 scrambly1900 set1914 handout1915 all-you-can-eat1940 spready1960 carbo-load1986 ?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) l. 574 I haue ordeynnyd a dyner of substawns, My chyff freyndes þerwith to chyr. P3. sum (also †summary) and substance see sum n.¹ Phrases 4, summary n. 2. Compounds C1. attributive and objective. Originally U.S. In sense 8d, as substance addiction, substance dependence, substance user, etc. See also substance abuse n., substance abuser n. at Compounds 3. ΚΠ 1968 Amer. Sociologist 3 327/2 The Standing Committee on Substance Misuse of the Institute for the Study of Drug Addiction. 1989 N.Y. Times 12 June a18/6 Those who are trying to help the homeless substance user..are overlooking an important source of information and help in Alcoholics Anonymous and its sister fellowships, Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous. 1993 New Scientist 17 July 48/4 Addiction is properly defined in terms of the extent to which substance use assumes control of an individual's behaviour. 1998 D. Carroll & F. F. Eves in H. S. Friedman Encycl. Mental Health II. 250/2 Like the substance addict, the pathological gambler is consumed by gambling. 2003 Evening Herald (Plymouth) (Nexis) 1 Sept. 4 Most of its clients have a high severity of substance dependence and have usually used drugs or alcohol for more than a decade. 2009 J. S. Turner Amer. Families in Crisis ii. 34 At one time, the term addiction was used almost exclusively for substance addiction, such as dependency on alcohol or cocaine. C2. † substance-yielding adj. Obsolete ΚΠ 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Substantifique, substantiell, or substance-yeelding. C3. substance abuse n. originally U.S. the excessive use, or misuse, of any substance for its intoxicating, stimulant, or narcotic effects; the abuse of alcohol or (esp. illegal) drugs. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > [noun] habit1887 misuse1890 sleigh-ride1925 sleigh-riding1934 scoring1967 substance abuse1967 the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [noun] > addiction to alcohol or habitual drinking intemperancy1586 intemperance1617 bibacity1623 dipsomania1843 bibulousness1844 alcoholism1848 potomania1858 inebriacy1876 alcohol problem1879 drink-habit1890 alcohol abuse1891 toperism1896 oenomania1897 drinking-habit1899 bibulosity1901 drinking problem1957 substance abuse1967 1967 [see sense 8d]. 1967 Salt Lake Tribune 25 Dec. e3/1 More than one referral in eight to the court is in the category of acts against self, including substance abuse. 1984 J. Didion Democracy (1985) i. ix. 44 A clinic on East 61st Street that specialized in the treatment of what the therapist called adolescent substance abuse. 2001 A. Solomon Noonday Demon (2002) vi. 217 Depression and substance abuse form a cycle. People who are depressed abuse substances in a bid to free themselves of their depression. substance abuser n. originally U.S. a person who engages in substance abuse. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > [noun] > drug-user drug-taker1800 sleigh-rider1833 abuser1847 user1935 joy-popper1936 popper1967 substance abuser1967 the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [noun] > one who drinks to excess > alcoholic or habitual drinker supper?1529 blow-bowl1530 drunkard1530 drunkera1538 blow-bottle1580 tippler1580 potman1589 red nose1591 sot1592 water rat1593 ply-pot1611 potter1632 pothead1639 pisspot1655 pitcher-man1665 whetter1709 inebriate1794 rummy1843 alcoholic1852 oenomaniac1857 dipsomaniac1858 alcoholizer1880 alcoholist1888 potationist1888 lush1890 rumdum1891 rumhound1895 blacklister1904 dipso1923 rumpot1929 alky1944 juice-head1955 alcohol abuser1965 juicer1967 substance abuser1967 jakey1988 1967 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 67 2208/3 (advt.) Service and Research Center for substance abusers and their families. 1978 Tucson (Arizona) Mag. Dec. 58/3 Kino Hospital's new psychiatric ward can handle 32 patients. Sixteen are what are known as substance abusers. 1987 Truck June 45/2 The American Trucking Association..has pledged to do ‘whatever it takes’ to get substance abusers out of the industry. 2004 H. Kunzru Transmission (2005) 278 He describes himself now, with a certain prim disgust, as a ‘drinker and substance abuser’. substance-free adj. (a) without substance; insubstantial; (b) originally U.S. not permitting, involving, or using intoxicating, stimulant, or narcotic substances (cf. sense 8d). ΚΠ 1960 Marriage & Family Living 22 301/1 Only those concepts which are abstract and general (substance-free) are included. 1984 Postville (Iowa) Herald 7 Mar. 13/4 Over 300 communities have expressed an interest in sponsoring substance-free graduation or prom parties. 1998 C. Barker Galilee iii. viii. 130 The article twittered on in the same substance-free manner for several pages; I don't think anything of any moment was said from beginning to end. 2002 Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent) (Nexis) 27 Aug. 5 A rehabilitation centre geared toward helping recovering drug addicts stay substance-free is set to open in Newcastle. Draft additions December 2022 substance use disorder n. Psychiatry any of a group of mental health conditions characterized by chronic use of a psychoactive substance over which the affected person has limited self-control, and which persists despite harmful physical and social consequences. Π 1979 Tribune (Scranton, Pa.) 8 June 22/2 A workshop concerning the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III will be held Wednesday... Areas covered are the concept and plan of DSM III, organic mental disorders, substance use disorders, schizophrenic disorders, affective disorders [etc.] 2004 D. K. Novins et al. in R. J. Bonnie & M. E. O'Connell Reducing Underage Drinking Background Papers xiv. 683 In this study, 15 percent of those youth with a substance use disorder..had a comorbid depressive disorder. 2020 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 19 Oct. a4/2 Younger veterans are more likely to have a history of substance abuse, and one-fifth of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are diagnosed with a substance use disorder. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2022). < n.c1330
随便看	to shout up, out of bed to shout upon the house-top to shout upon the house-tops to shout upon the housetop to shout upon the housetops to shove a thing down a person's throat to shove and heave to shove at to shove at the cart to shove down to shove down a person's throat to shove it to shove one's oar in to shove out to shove queer to shove something up her arse to shove something up her ass to shove something up his arse to shove something up his ass to shove something up one's jacksie to shove something up your arse to shove something up your ass to shove something where the sun don't shine to shove the moon to shove the queer