essence

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛsəns/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English essencia, essencie, borrowed from Latin essentia (“being, essence”),^[2][3] respelled essence in the late 15th century on the French model (Old French essence),^[2][3][4] an abstract noun formed to translate Greek οὐσία (ousía, “being”) from essent-, a present participle stem of esse, to be,^[3][2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *es-, to be (see is).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In theology, the substance of the Trinity: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus;^[2] true being, as distinct from accidental qualities, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Caxton's spelling essence (1481) probably reflects his familiarity with French.^[2] An early meaning was being or existence.^[5][4] The general sense, the most important or basic element of anything, is first recorded in 1656, in Hobbes;^[2] the ingredient that gives something its character is from about 1600.^[3] In alchemy the fifth essence was the quintessence,^[5] and the technical sense, an extract in concentrated form, followed in 1660, in Boyle,^[2] especially of distilled plant oils (1650s), hence a perfume in the 17th century.^[3][4] In 19th-century America an essence-peddler could be a travelling medicine seller or a skunk.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1398 – substance of the Trinity.^[2]
• 1481 – the spelling essence.^[2]
• c. 1600 – the essential ingredient.^[3]
• 1656 – the basic element.^[2]
• 1660 – a concentrated extract.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, which makes it what it is.
2. The most important element: the essence of the problem.
3. An extract of a substance in concentrated form, or a perfume.
4. A perfect example of a quality: the essence of politeness.
5. (philosophy) The unchanging nature of a thing.

Related words

• essential
• essentialism
• quintessential
• quintessence
• entity
• is
• absent
• present

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press