essence

[es-uh ns] /ˈɛs əns/
noun
1.
the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features:
Freedom is the very essence of our democracy.
2.
a substance obtained from a plant, drug, or the like, by distillation, infusion, etc., and containing its characteristic properties in concentrated form.
3.
an alcoholic solution of an essential oil; spirit.
4.
a perfume; scent.
5.
Philosophy. the inward nature, true substance, or constitution of anything, as opposed to what is accidental, phenomenal, illusory, etc.
6.
something that exists, especially a spiritual or immaterial entity.
Idioms
7.
in essence, essentially; at bottom, often despite appearances:
For all his bluster, he is in essence a shy person.
8.
of the essence, absolutely essential; critical; crucial:
In chess, cool nerves are of the essence.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English essencia < Medieval Latin, for Latin essentia. See esse, -ence
Related forms
self-essence, noun
Synonyms
1. substance, spirit, lifeblood, heart, principle, soul, core.
British Dictionary definitions for in essence

essence

/ˈɛsəns/
noun
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)
  1. the unchanging and unchangeable nature of something which is necessary to its being the thing it is; its necessary properties Compare accident (sense 4)
  2. the properties in virtue of which something is called by its name
  3. the nature of something as distinct from, and logically prior to, its existence
5.
(theol) an immaterial or spiritual entity
6.
  1. the constituent of a plant, usually an oil, alkaloid, or glycoside, that determines its chemical or pharmacological properties
  2. an alcoholic solution of such a substance
7.
a substance, usually a liquid, containing the properties of a plant or foodstuff in concentrated form: vanilla essence
8.
a rare word for perfume
9.
in essence, essentially; fundamentally
10.
of the essence, indispensable; vitally important
Word Origin
C14: from Medieval Latin essentia, from Latin: the being (of something), from esse to be
Word Origin and History for in essence

essence

n.

late 14c., essencia (respelled late 15c. on French model), from Latin essentia "being, essence," abstract noun formed (in imitation of Greek ousia "being, essence") from essent-, present participle stem of esse "to be," from PIE *es- (cf. Sanskrit asmi, Hittite eimi, Old Church Slavonic jesmi, Lithuanian esmi, Gothic imi, Old English eom "I am;" see be). Originally "substance of the Trinity," the general sense of "basic element of anything" is first recorded in English 1650s, though this is the base meaning of the first English use of essential.

Idioms and Phrases with in essence

in essence

Basically, by nature, as in He is in essence a very private person or In essence, they were asking the wrong question. This term employs essence in the sense of “intrinsic nature,” a usage dating from the mid-1600s.