essence
/ˈɛs(ə)ns
/noun [mass noun]
1The intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, which determines its character: conflict is the essence of drama...
- Her portrayal of the sexy evangelist Reno Sweeney was outstanding, catching the very essence of this character.
- Usually the design process involves taking messy reality and isolating its abstract essence.
- The chief aim of this inquiry has been to shed light on the nature and essence of the disagreement between the two.
Synonyms
quintessence, soul, spirit, ethos, nature, life, lifeblood, core, heart, centre, crux, nub, nucleus, kernel, marrow, meat, pith, gist, substance, principle, central part, fundamental quality, basic quality, essential part, intrinsic nature, sum and substance, reality, actuality;
Philosophy quiddity, esse
informal nitty-gritty
1.1 [count noun] Philosophy A property or group of properties of something without which it would not exist or be what it is: Locke’s scepticism about our ability to penetrate to the real essences of things...
- Do essences (or properties in general) exist in the physical world?
- Whereas the immediate explanation of the actuality of Aristotle's substances lay in what they were essentially, that was not the case with Avicenna's essences, for their status was that of the merely possible.
- That is, items in all the categories are definable, so items in all the categories have essences - just as there is an essence of man, there is also an essence of white and an essence of musical.
2An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter and used for flavouring or scent: vanilla essence...
- Whip the evaporated milk until frothy and then add the jelly, cheese, vanilla essence and lemon juice.
- The addition of two drops of vanilla essence in the glasses masked the flavour of both the beverages.
- Cream butter and vanilla essence in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
Synonyms
extract, concentrate, concentration, quintessence, distillate, elixir, abstraction, decoction, juice, tincture, solution, suspension, dilution;
scent, perfume
Phrases
in essence
of the essence
Origin
Late Middle English: via Old French from Latin essentia, from esse 'be'.
Essence comes via Old French from Latin essentia, from esse ‘to be’. An early meaning was ‘being, existence’. In alchemy it was used in the phrase fifth essence or quintessence. Alchemists believed this substance to be latent in all bodies and thus to be extractable by distillation: this probably led to essence's use for ‘an extract obtained from a plant with therapeutic qualities’, reinforced by the sense ‘indispensable quality or constituent’.