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quintessence

Etymology and origin of the English word quintessence

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kwɪnˈtɛs.əns/[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English quyntessense,[2][3][4] from Middle French quinte essence,[2][3][4][5] from Medieval Latin quinta essentia (“fifth essence”),[2][3][4][5][6] from Latin quīnta “fifth” and essentia “being, essence”.[2][3][4] It is a loan translation of Greek pémptē ousía “fifth being”, the ether that Aristotle added to the four elements.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In ancient and medieval philosophy, the fifth essence, the substance of the heavenly bodies, latent in all things (about 1430–35).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The ether was thought to be bright, incorruptible and naturally moving in circles,[4] and extracting it was one of the chief aims of alchemy.[4] From 1570 the word meant the purest form or most essential part of anything,[3][7][4] from 1576 a refined extract,[7] and from 1590 the most perfect embodiment of a type.[7] Quintessential is from 1605.[3]

Timeline

  • about 1430 – the fifth essence.[7][3]
  • 1570 – the purest form of something.[3][7]
  • 1576 – a highly refined extract.[7]
  • 1590 – the most perfect embodiment.[7]
  • 1605 – quintessential.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The pure, highly concentrated essence of something.
  2. The purest or most typical example of something; the epitome.
  3. In ancient and medieval philosophy, the fifth element after earth, air, fire and water, thought to make up the heavenly bodies.

Word family

  • quintessential
  • quintessentially
  • essence
  • ether
  • quint-

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Quintessence.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/quintessence. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·