essential English · revision 4347

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1340|origins=la esse}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪˈsen.ʃəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|essencial]],^(MWU 2024) [[bor|la-lat|essentiālis]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) from Latin [[m|la|essentia|t=being, essence]],^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) an abstract noun formed to translate Greek ousia “being”,^(Etymonline) from essent-, the present participle stem of esse “to be”,^(Etymonline) from [[ine-pro|*h₁es-|alt=*es-|t=to be]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[essence]].^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “That is such by essence, or in the highest sense”: about 1340 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster has the 14th century.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “Of or pertaining to essence” is from 1398,^(OED 1989) the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) “Dependent on the intrinsic nature of a thing” is from 1502,^(OED 1989) and “necessary, indispensable” from the 1520s.^(Etymonline) “Constituting the essence of anything” is from the 1540s,^(Etymonline) 1546 in the OED.^(OED 1989) The plural noun ''essentials'', the indispensable parts, is from the early 16th century,^(Etymonline) the noun being 15th-century in Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate) In medicine essential is used of a disease or condition with no known cause,^(AHD) and in biochemistry of a nutrient the body cannot make for itself, as an essential amino acid.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1340 – such by its essence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1398 – pertaining to essence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1502 – intrinsic.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1520s – necessary.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1546 – constituting the essence.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Forming part of the [[essence]] of something; [[inherent]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Basic or [[indispensable]]; necessary.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(medicine)'' Of a disease or disorder, having no known cause: ''essential hypertension''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of a nutrient, needed for normal health but not made by the body in sufficient amounts.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Something basic or [[fundamental]]: ''the essentials of grammar''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something necessary or indispensable.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[essentiality]]

+ * [[essentially]]

+ * [[essentialness]]

+ * [[coessential]]

+ * [[essentialism]]

+ * [[essentialize]]

+ * [[subessential]]

+ * [[quintessential]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[essence]]

+ * [[entity]]

+ * [[is]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}