essence

es·sence  (sns)

n.

1. The intrinsic or indispensable properties that serve to characterize or identify something.

2. The most important ingredient; the crucial element.

3. The inherent, unchanging nature of a thing or class of things.

4.

a. An extract that has the fundamental properties of a substance in concentrated form.

b. Such an extract in a solution of alcohol.

c. A perfume or scent.

5. One that has or shows an abundance of a quality as if highly concentrated: a neighbor who is the essence of hospitality.

6. Something that exists, especially a spiritual or incorporeal entity.

Idioms:

in essence

By nature; essentially: He is in essence a reclusive sort.

of the essence

Of the greatest importance; crucial: Time is of the essence.

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[Middle English essencia and French essence, both from Latin essentia, from esse, to be, from the presumed present participle *essns, *essent- (on the model of differentia, difference, from differns, different-, present participle of differre, to differ), created to translate Greek ousi (from ousa, feminine present participle of einai, to be); see es- in Indo-European roots.]

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essence [ˈɛs^əns]

n

1. the characteristic or intrinsic feature of a thing, which determines its identity; fundamental nature

2. the most distinctive element of a thing the essence of a problem

3. a perfect or complete form of something, esp a person who typifies an abstract quality he was the essence of gentility

4. (Philosophy) Philosophy

a.  the unchanging and unchangeable nature of something which is necessary to its being the thing it is; its necessary properties Compare accident [4]

b.  the properties in virtue of which something is called by its name

c.  the nature of something as distinct from, and logically prior to, its existence

5. (Christian Religious Writings / Theology) Theol an immaterial or spiritual entity

6. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Botany)

a.  the constituent of a plant, usually an oil, alkaloid, or glycoside, that determines its chemical or pharmacological properties

b.  an alcoholic solution of such a substance

7. (Chemistry) a substance, usually a liquid, containing the properties of a plant or foodstuff in concentrated form vanilla essence

8. a rare word for perfume

in essence essentially; fundamentally

of the essence indispensable; vitally important

[from Medieval Latin essentia, from Latin: the being (of something), from esse to be]

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Essence 

in a nutshell Concisely, tersely, pithily; briefly, simply, in few words; containing much of substance in a small space, as nutmeat within a nutshell. Nutshell as representative of conciseness has been in use since the 17th century; the phrase in a nutshell since shortly thereafter.

A great complex argument, which … cannot by any ingenuity … be packed into a nutshell. (John Henry Newman, Grammar of Assent, 1870)

nature of the beast The essence of a person or thing; human nature; the qualities and characteristics common to human beings and other animals. This expression combines nature ‘essential qualities or properties’ and beast ‘any animal,’ implying that there is a certain crudeness common to all animals, both human and nonhuman. It is often used in the context of explaining or excusing the behavior of someone who acts or has acted in an inappropriate or boorish manner. Such usage is illustrated in a 1683 letter by Jules Verney:

I’m very sorry [that] John my coachman should be so great a clown to you … but ‘tis the nature of the beast. (Letters and Papers of the Verney Family, 1899)

In recent years, the usage of nature of the beast has been extended to describe the negative qualities often inherent in inanimate objects, bureaucratic systems, and other matters.

part and parcel An integral or essential component; a vital part of a larger entity. In this expression, common since the 14th century, part and parcel are synonymous, their juxtaposition serving to emphasize the importance of a given constituent to the whole.

The places referred to are, for all intents and purposes, part and parcel of the metropolis. (John McCulloch, A Descriptive and Statistical Account of the British Empire, 1846)

sixty-four-dollar question The crux of the matter; the basic or critically important question; the remaining unknown whose answer would provide the ultimate solution of a problem. This expression refers to the prize awarded for correctly answering the last and most difficult in a series of questions asked of a contestant on “Take It or Leave It,” a popular radio quiz show in the 1940s. With the advent of television, the stakes were raised considerably in “The $64,000 Question” (1955-58), giving rise to the updated variation, sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	essence - the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story" heart and soul, inwardness, nitty-gritty, pith, substance, gist, kernel, nub, meat, core, sum, marrow, heart, center, centre cognitive content, mental object, content - the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered, or learned bare bones - (plural) the most basic facts or elements; "he told us only the bare bones of the story" hypostasis - (metaphysics) essential nature or underlying reality haecceity, quiddity - the essence that makes something the kind of thing it is and makes it different from any other quintessence - the purest and most concentrated essence of something stuff - a critically important or characteristic component; "suspense is the very stuff of narrative"
	2.	essence - any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted substance - the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists; "DNA is the substance of our genes"
	3.	essence - the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work gist, burden, effect, core meaning, signification, import, significance - the message that is intended or expressed or signified; "what is the meaning of this sentence"; "the significance of a red traffic light"; "the signification of Chinese characters"; "the import of his announcement was ambiguous"
	4.	essence - a toiletry that emits and diffuses a fragrant odor perfume cologne water, eau de cologne, cologne - a perfumed liquid made of essential oils and alcohol pachouli, patchouli, patchouly - a heavy perfume made from the patchouli plant perfumery - perfumes in general potpourri - a jar of mixed flower petals and spices used as perfume rose water - perfume consisting of water scented with oil of roses toilet articles, toiletry - artifacts used in making your toilet (washing and taking care of your body) eau de toilette, toilet water - a perfumed liquid lighter than cologne

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essence

noun

1. fundamental nature, nature, being, life, meaning, heart, spirit, principle, soul, core, substance, significance, entity, bottom line, essential part, kernel, crux, lifeblood, pith, quintessence, basic characteristic, quiddity Some claim that Ireland's very essence is expressed through its language.

2. concentrate, spirits, extract, elixir, tincture, distillate Add a few drops of vanilla essence.

in essence essentially, materially, virtually, basically, fundamentally, in effect, substantially, in the main, to all intents and purposes, in substance In essence, we share the same ideology.

of the essence vitally important, essential, vital, critical, crucial, key, indispensable, of the utmost importance Time is of the essence with this project.

Translations

essence [ˈesəns] N

1. → esencia f
the essence of the matter is → lo esencial del asunto es ...
in essence → en lo esencial
time is of the essence → el tiempo es primordial

2. (= extract) → esencia f, extracto m

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essence [ˈɛs^əns] n

(= essential feature) → essence f

(= importance) to be of the essence → être essentiel(le)
Speed is of the essence → La rapidité est essentielle.

in essence adv (= basically) → en substance

(= concentrated liquid) → essence f vanilla essence

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essence

n

(Philos) → Wesen nt, → Essenz f; (= substratum) → Substanz f

(= most important quality) → Wesen nt, → Wesentliche(s) nt, → Kern m; in essence the theories are very similar → die Theorien sind im Wesentlichen or in ihrem Kern or essenziell (geh) → or essentiell (geh) → sehr ähnlich; how would you describe the situation, in essence? → wie würden Sie die Situation im Wesentlichen beschreiben?; speed/time is of the essence → Geschwindigkeit/Zeit ist von entscheidender Bedeutung; the essence of his thought → der Kern or die Essenz seines Denkens; the note contained the essence of what he had said → die Notiz enthielt den Kern dessen, was er gesagt hatte; he embodies the very essence of Japanese spirit → er verkörpert den Inbegriff des japanischen Geistes; the novel captures the essence of life in the city → der Roman fängt das Leben in der Stadt perfekt ein; the essence of Liberalism → die Essenz des Liberalismus

(= extract: Chem, Cook) → Essenz f

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essence [ˈɛs/əns] n (gen) (Culin) → essenza
in essence → in sostanza
speed is of the essence → la velocità è di estrema importanza

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essence [ˈesns]

1 the most important part or quality Tolerance is the essence of friendship. wese جَوْهَر същност podstata essens; (det) væsentlige das Wesentliche ουσία, κύριο στοιχείο esencia tuum اساس؛ اصل ydin essence (mème) עִיקָר तत्व, गुण, सार, भाव, मूल वस्तु bit, srž inti kjarni, innsta eðli essenza 本質 본질, 진수 esmė būtība; galvenais ramuan essentie det vesentlige, kjerne istota essência esenţă сущность podstata bistvo suština innersta väsen (natur), grunddrag, huvudsak แก่น; ใจความ öz, esas 本質 суть, істотність اہم ترین حصہ یا عنصر bản chất 本质

2 a substance obtained from a plant, drug etc vanilla essence. ekstrak خُلاصَه есенция esence essens; -essens; ekstrakt; -ekstrakt der Auszug εκχύλισμα esencia essents اسانس؛ عطر esanssi essence תַּמצִית सुगन्ध esencija, ekstrakt kivonat sari kraftur essenza エキス (식물, 약물 등에서 추출한) 정(精) esencija esence inti essence essens, ekstrakt wyciąg, esencja essência esenţă эссенция esencia izvleček esencija essens ส่วนสำคัญของพืชที่ถูกสกัดออกมา esans 香精 есенція, екстракт کسی پودے، دوا وغیرہ کا نچوڑ tinh chất 香精