The meaning of word essence

1

a

: the permanent as contrasted with the accidental element of being

b

: the individual, real, or ultimate nature of a thing especially as opposed to its existence

a painting that captures the essence of the land

c

: the properties or attributes by means of which something can be placed in its proper class or identified as being what it is

2

: the most significant element, quality, or aspect of a thing or person

3

: one that possesses or exhibits a quality in abundance as if in concentrated form

she was the essence of punctuality

4

a(1)

: a constituent or derivative possessing the special qualities (as of a plant or drug) in concentrated form

also

: a preparation of such an essence or a synthetic substitute

5

: something that exists : entity

Phrases

in essence

of the essence

: of the utmost importance

Synonyms

Example Sentences

The perennial debate about nature and nurture—which is the more potent shaper of the human essence?—is perennially rekindled.


—Matt Ridley, Time, 2 June 2003


In essence, the positivists were the first sociologists, rejecting both superstition and metaphysics and studying behavior as a natural phenomenon that could be perfected.


—Stephan Talty, Mulatto America, 2003


I had come to Orange Cove on a statewide tour, looking for the essence of Latino life in a changing California and a good bowl of the Mexican stew …


—Joe Rodriguez, San Jose Mercury News, 20 May 2003



The essence of love is unselfishness.



The book’s illustrations capture the essence of the story.

Recent Examples on the Web

In essence, pharmaceuticals were much less present in redfish muscle tissue than in blood.


—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2023




In essence, the coach — who retired and handed over the SDSU reins to Dutcher in 2017 — got caught up in a series of events that, frankly, wouldn’t be frowned upon nearly as harshly today.


—Eddie Pells, Orlando Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2023




Boylan added that time is of the essence, as there’s significant momentum on electric vehicles, which are still too expensive for many car-buyers.


—Ella Nilsen, CNN, 31 Mar. 2023




In essence, Lloyd Webber had written a reply to critics who saw him (positively or not) as a purveyor of theatrical delights, countering that the experience of listening to music was a matter of grave artistic importance.


—Vulture, 28 Mar. 2023




In essence, the astronaut twin will have traveled into the future.


—Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 27 Mar. 2023




The hermit kingdom is in essence a criminal conspiracy, engaging in drug smuggling, counterfeiting, and cybercrimes to stay afloat.


—Tim Weiner, The New Republic, 27 Mar. 2023




Yes, a victory against the Knicks would give the Heat that tiebreaker, so in essence that would count double against the Knicks.


—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 26 Mar. 2023




The last 18 months have shown encouraging signs of recovery for air travel, as well as continued expectations for fast-moving supply chains that include air freight when time is of the essence.


—Nick Santhanam, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023


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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘essence.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English essencia, from Latin essentia, from esse to be — more at is

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of essence was
in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near essence

Cite this Entry

“Essence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/essence. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.

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Merriam-Webster unabridged

Источник

Essence (Latin: essentia) is a polysemic term, that is, it may have significantly different meanings and uses. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. Essence is contrasted with accident: a property or attribute the entity or substance has contingently, without which the substance can still retain its identity.

The concept originates rigorously with Aristotle (although it can also be found in Plato),[1] who used the Greek expression to ti ên einai (τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι,[2] literally meaning «the what it was to be» and corresponding to the scholastic term quiddity) or sometimes the shorter phrase to ti esti (τὸ τί ἐστι,[3] literally meaning «the what it is» and corresponding to the scholastic term (haecceity(thisness) for the same idea. This phrase presented such difficulties for its Latin translators that they coined the word essentia (English «essence») to represent the whole expression. For Aristotle and his scholastic followers, the notion of essence is closely linked to that of definition (ὁρισμός horismos).[4]

In the history of Western philosophy, essence has often served as a vehicle for doctrines that tend to individuate different forms of existence as well as different identity conditions for objects and properties; in this logical meaning, the concept has given a strong theoretical and common-sense basis to the whole family of logical theories based on the «possible worlds» analogy set up by Leibniz and developed in the intensional logic from Carnap to Kripke, which was later challenged by «extensionalist» philosophers such as Quine.

EtymologyEdit

The English word essence comes from Latin essentia, via French essence. The original Latin word was created purposefully, by Ancient Roman philosophers, in order to provide an adequate Latin translation for the Greek term οὐσία (ousia). Stoic philosopher Seneca (d. 65 AD) attributed creation of the word to Cicero (d. 43 BC), while rhetor Quintilian (d. 100 AD) claimed that the word was created much earlier, by writer Plautus (184 BC). Early use of the term is also attested in works of Apuleius (d. 170 AD) and Tertullian (d. 240 AD). During Late Antiquity, the term was often used in Christian theology, and through the works of Augustine (d. 430), Boethius (d. 524) and later theologians, who wrote in Medieval Latin, it became the basis for consequent creation of derived terms in many languages.[5]

PhilosophyEdit

Ontological statusEdit

In his dialogues Plato suggests that concrete beings acquire their essence through their relations to «Forms»—abstract universals logically or ontologically separate from the objects of sense perception. These Forms are often put forth as the models or paradigms of which sensible things are «copies». When used in this sense, the word form is often capitalized.[6] Sensible bodies are in constant flux and imperfect and hence, by Plato’s reckoning, less real than the Forms which are eternal, unchanging and complete. Typical examples of Forms given by Plato are largeness, smallness, equality, unity, goodness, beauty and justice.

Aristotle moves the Forms of Plato to the nucleus of the individual thing, which is called ousia or substance. Essence is the ti of the thing, the to ti en einai. Essence corresponds to the ousia‘s definition; essence is a real and physical aspect of the ousia (Aristotle, Metaphysics, I).

According to nominalists (Roscelin of Compiègne, William of Ockham, Bernard of Chartres), universals aren’t concrete entities, just voice’s sounds; there are only individuals: «nam cum habeat eorum sententia nihil esse praeter individuum […]» (Roscelin, De gener. et spec., 524). Universals are words that can call to several individuals; for example the word «homo». Therefore, a universal is reduced to a sound’s emission (Roscelin, De generibus et speciebus).

John Locke distinguished between «real essences» and «nominal essences». Real essences are the thing(s) that makes a thing a thing, whereas nominal essences are our conception of what makes a thing a thing.[7]

According to Edmund Husserl essence is ideal. However, ideal means that essence is an intentional object of consciousness. Essence is interpreted as sense (E. Husserl, Ideas pertaining to a pure phenomenology and to a phenomenological philosophy, paragraphs 3 and 4).

ExistentialismEdit

Existentialism was coined by Jean-Paul Sartre’s endorsement of Martin Heidegger’s statement that for human beings «existence precedes essence.» In as much as «essence» is a cornerstone of all metaphysical philosophy and of Rationalism, Sartre’s statement was a repudiation of the philosophical system that had come before him (and, in particular, that of Husserl, Hegel, and Heidegger). Instead of «is-ness» generating «actuality,» he argued that existence and actuality come first, and the essence is derived afterward. For Kierkegaard, it is the individual person who is the supreme moral entity, and the personal, subjective aspects of human life that are the most important; also, for Kierkegaard all of this had religious implications.[8]

In metaphysicsEdit

«Essence,» in metaphysics, is often synonymous with the soul, and some existentialists argue that individuals gain their souls and spirits after they exist, that they develop their souls and spirits during their lifetimes. For Kierkegaard, however, the emphasis was upon essence as «nature.» For him, there is no such thing as «human nature» that determines how a human will behave or what a human will be. First, he or she exists, and then comes property. Jean-Paul Sartre’s more materialist and skeptical existentialism furthered this existentialist tenet by flatly refuting any metaphysical essence, any soul, and arguing instead that there is merely existence, with attributes as essence.

Thus, in existentialist discourse, essence can refer to:

  • physical aspect or property;
  • the ongoing being of a person (the character or internally determined goals); or
  • the infinite inbound within the human (which can be lost, can atrophy, or can be developed into an equal part with the finite), depending upon the type of existentialist discourse.

ReligionEdit

BuddhismEdit

Within the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism, Candrakirti identifies the self as:

an essence of things that does not depend on others; it is an intrinsic nature. The non-existence of that is selflessness.

— Bodhisattvayogacaryācatuḥśatakaṭikā 256.1.7[9]

Buddhapālita adds, while commenting on Nagārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā,

What is the reality of things just as it is? It is the absence of essence. Unskilled persons whose eye of intelligence is obscured by the darkness of delusion conceive of an essence of things and then generate attachment and hostility with regard to them.

— Buddhapālita-mula-madhyamaka-vrtti, P5242, 73.5.6-74.1.2[9]

For the Madhyamaka Buddhists, ‘Emptiness’ (also known as Anatta or Anatman) is the strong assertion that:

  • all phenomena are empty of any essence;
  • anti-essentialism lies at the root of Buddhist praxis; and
  • it is the innate belief in essence that is considered to be an afflictive obscuration which serves as the root of all suffering.

However, the Madhyamaka also rejects the tenets of Idealism, Materialism or Nihilism; instead, the ideas of truth or existence, along with any assertions that depend upon them, are limited to their function within the contexts and conventions that assert them, possibly somewhat akin to Relativism or Pragmatism. For the Madhyamaka, replacement paradoxes such as Ship of Theseus are answered by stating that the Ship of Theseus remains so (within the conventions that assert it) until it ceases to function as the Ship of Theseus.

In Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika Chapter XV examines essence itself.

HinduismEdit

In understanding any individual personality, a distinction is made between one’s Swadharma (essence) and Swabhava (mental habits and conditionings of ego personality). Svabhava is the nature of a person, which is a result of his or her samskaras (impressions created in the mind due to one’s interaction with the external world). These samskaras create habits and mental models and those become our nature. While there is another kind of svabhava that is a pure internal quality – smarana – we are here focusing only on the svabhava that was created due to samskaras (because to discover the pure, internal svabhava and smarana, one should become aware of one’s samskaras and take control over them). Dharma is derived from the root dhr «to hold.» It is that which holds an entity together. That is, Dharma is that which gives integrity to an entity and holds the core quality and identity (essence), form and function of that entity. Dharma is also defined as righteousness and duty. To do one’s dharma is to be righteous, to do one’s dharma is to do one’s duty (express one’s essence).[10]

See alsoEdit

  • Avicenna
  • Essentialism
  • Hypokeimenon
  • Modal logic
  • Phenomenon
  • Physical ontology
  • Quintessence (element)
  • Smarana
  • Theory of forms
  • Transubstantiation

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ «The Internet Classics Archive | Euthyphro by Plato». classics.mit.edu. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  2. ^ Aristotle, Metaphysics, 1029b
  3. ^ Aristotle, Metaphysics, 1030a
  4. ^ S. Marc Cohen, «Aristotle’s Metaphysics», Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, accessed 20 April 2008.
  5. ^ Brown 1996, p. 275-276.
  6. ^ «Chapter 28: Form» of The Great Ideas: A Synopticon of Great Books of the Western World (Vol. II). Encyclopædia Britannica (1952), p. 526-542. This source states that Form or Idea get capitalized according to this convention when they refer «to that which is separate from the characteristics of material things and from the ideas in our mind.»
  7. ^ Locke on Real Essence. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2022.
  8. ^ The Story of Philosophy, Bryan Magee, Dorling Kindersley Lond. 1998, ISBN 0-7513-0590-1
  9. ^ a b Translations from «The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path of Enlightenment», Vol. 3 by Tsong-Kha-Pa, Snow Lion Publications ISBN 1-55939-166-9
  10. ^ Prasadkaipa.com

SourcesEdit

  • Athanasopoulos, Constantinos; Schneider, Christoph, eds. (2013). Divine Essence and Divine Energies: Ecumenical Reflections on the Presence of God. Cambridge, UK: James Clarke & Co. ISBN 9780227900086.
  • Aveling, Francis (1909). «Essence and Existence». The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  • Brown, Stephen F. (1996). «Theology and Philosophy». Medieval Latin: An Introduction and Bibliographical Guide. Washington, D.C.: CUA Press. pp. 267–287. ISBN 9780813208428.
  • Weedman, Mark (2007). The Trinitarian Theology of Hilary of Poitiers. Leiden-Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-9004162242.

External linksEdit

Wikiquote has quotations related to Essence.

  • Maurice De Wulf: «Nominalism, Realism, Conceptualism.», in: The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911.
  • Robertson, Teresa; Atkins, Philip. «Essential vs. Accidental Properties». In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Источник

  • 1
    essence

    1) су́щность, существо́;

    2) экстра́кт, эссе́нция

    3) арома́т

    Англо-русский словарь Мюллера > essence

  • 2
    essence

    Персональный Сократ > essence

  • 3
    essence

    essence 1. субстанция; 2. сущность; 3. отличительный признак

    English-Russian dictionary of biology and biotechnology > essence

  • 4
    essence

    [ˈesns]

    essence аромат essence авто бензин essence уст. духи essence существо essence существование essence сущность, существо; in essence по существу; of the essence существенно essence сущность essence экстракт, эссенция essence сущность, существо; in essence по существу; of the essence существенно essence сущность, существо; in essence по существу; of the essence существенно

    English-Russian short dictionary > essence

  • 5
    essence

    ˈesns сущ.
    1) существо, сущность the essence of life ≈ сущность жизни The essence of consultation is to listen to, and take account of, the views of those consulted. ≈ Существо консультации заключается в выслушивании и принятии во внимание мнения консультирующего. Others claim that Ireland’s very essence is expressed through the language. ≈ Другие утверждают, что самая сущность Ирландии проявляется в ее языке. in essence of the essence the very essence Syn: entity
    2) существование Syn: existence, entity
    3) экстракт, эссенция exotic bath essences ≈ экзотический экстракт для ванн
    4) квинтэссенция She was the essence of punctuality. ≈ Она была верхом пунктуальности. It was a perfect love-letter, that is to say, it was the essence of nonsense. ≈ Это было совершенное любовное письмо, так сказать, чистейшая чепуха.
    5) аромат;
    уст. духи Syn: odor, perfume
    1.
    сущность, существо — in * по существу, в сущности — the * of the proposal существо предложения — * of crime сущность преступления — to be of the * быть существенно важным, относиться к существу дела( философское) сущность (философское) субстанция — fifth * пятый элемент, пятая стихия, основная сущность вещей, квинтэссенция ( у древних греков) квинтэссенция;
    верх (чего-либо) — the * of nonsense сущий вздор, полная бессмыслица эссенция;
    экстракт — meat * мясной экстракт — pear * грушевая эссенция существо, создание — heavenly *s небесные создания, духи небес духи;
    аромат спиртовой раствор летучее масло, эфирное масло( автомобильное) (профессионализм) бензин
    essence аромат ~ авто бензин ~ уст. духи ~ существо ~ существование ~ сущность, существо;
    in essence по существу;
    of the essence существенно ~ сущность ~ экстракт, эссенция
    ~ сущность, существо;
    in essence по существу;
    of the essence существенно
    ~ сущность, существо;
    in essence по существу;
    of the essence существенно

    Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь > essence

  • 6
    essence

    1. n сущность, существо

    2. n филос. субстанция

    fifth essence — пятый элемент, пятая стихия, основная сущность вещей, квинтэссенция

    3. n филос. квинтэссенция; верх

    4. n филос. эссенция; экстракт

    5. n филос. существо, создание

    6. n филос. духи; аромат

    7. n филос. спиртовой раствор

    8. n филос. летучее масло, эфирное масло

    9. n филос. авт. проф. бензин

    Синонимический ряд:

    3. distilled spirits (noun) alcohol; distillated spirits; distillation; distilled spirits; juice; liquor; spirit; spirits

    4. heart (noun) basic nature; basis; be-all and end-all; being; bottom; core; essentia; essential quality; essentiality; gist; heart; kernel; marrow; meat; nature; nub; pith; principle; quintessence; quintessential; rock bottom; root; soul; stuff; substance; sum and substance; texture; virtuality

    English-Russian base dictionary > essence

  • 7
    essence

    [ʹes(ə)ns]

    1. сущность, существо

    in essence — по существу, в сущности

    essence of crime — сущность /существенное качество/ преступления

    to be of the essence — быть существенно важным, относиться к существу дела

    1) сущность

    2) субстанция

    fifth essence — пятый элемент, пятая стихия, основная сущность вещей, квинтэссенция ()

    3. квинтэссенция; верх ()

    the essence of nonsense — сущий вздор, полная бессмыслица

    4. эссенция; экстракт

    5. существо, создание

    heavenly essences — небесные создания, духи небес

    6. духи; аромат

    7. 1) спиртовой раствор

    2) летучее масло, эфирное масло

    НБАРС > essence

  • 8
    essence

    [‘es(ə)n(t)s]

    сущ.

    1) существо, сущность

    The essence of consultation is to listen to, and take account of, the views of those consulted. — Суть консультации заключается в выслушивании и принятии во внимание мнения консультируемых.

    Others consider that Ireland’s very essence is expressed through the language. — Некоторые утверждают, что самая сущность Ирландии проявляется в её языке.


    — of the essence
    — the very essence

    Syn:

    Syn:

    3) экстракт, эссенция

    She was the essence of punctuality. — Она была сама пунктуальность.

    It was a perfect love-letter, that is to say, it was the essence of nonsense. — Это было самое настоящее любовное письмо, иными словами, — полнейшая чепуха.

    5) аромат; духи

    Syn:

    Англо-русский современный словарь > essence

  • 9
    essence

    Англо-русский синонимический словарь > essence

  • 10
    essence

    n

    1) сущность, существо; суть

    2)

    филос.

    сущность; субстрат

    •

    English-russian dctionary of diplomacy > essence

  • 11
    essence

    English-Russian big polytechnic dictionary > essence

  • 12
    essence

    English-Russian big medical dictionary > essence

  • 13
    essence

    Patent terms dictionary > essence

  • 14
    essence

    Англо-русский словарь технических терминов > essence

  • 15
    essence

    Англо-русский технический словарь > essence

  • 16
    essence

    n

    сущность; существо; суть

    to conceal / to veil the essence — скрывать сущность


    — in essence

    Politics english-russian dictionary > essence

  • 17
    essence

    noun

    1) сущность, существо; in essence по существу; of the essence существенно

    2) существование

    3) экстракт, эссенция

    5) аромат

    * * *

    (n) суть; существо; сущность

    * * *

    сущность, существо; эссенция

    * * *

    [es·sence || ‘esns]
    сущность, существо; эссенция, экстракт; духи, аромат; бензин

    * * *

    аромат

    суть

    существо

    существование

    сущность

    экстракт

    эссенция

    * * *

    1) существо
    2) существование
    3) экстракт

    Новый англо-русский словарь > essence

  • 18
    essence

    English-russian dctionary of contemporary Economics > essence

  • 19
    essence

    1. эфирное масло

    2. отдушивать

    The English-Russian dictionary general scientific > essence

  • 20
    essence

    [‘es(ə)ns]

    1) Общая лексика: аромат, бензин, суть, существо , существование, сущность, экстракт, эссенция, духи, существенные условия , смысл , квинтэссенция

    5) Сельское хозяйство: отдушка

    8) Дипломатический термин: субстрат

    Универсальный англо-русский словарь > essence

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См. также в других словарях:

  • essence — [ esɑ̃s ] n. f. • 1130; lat. philos. essentia I ♦ Philos. Ce qui constitue la nature d un être. 1 ♦ Philos. (opposé à accident) Fond de l être, nature intime des choses. ⇒ nature, substance. L essence des choses. L essence humaine. « Nous ne… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Essence — Es sence, n. [F. essence, L. essentia, formed as if fr. a p. pr. of esse to be. See {Is}, and cf. {Entity}.] 1. The constituent elementary notions which constitute a complex notion, and must be enumerated to define it; sometimes called the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • essence — es·sence / es əns/ n 1: the real or ultimate nature of a thing: the properties that make a thing what it is his award is legitimate only so long as it draws its essence from the collective bargaining agreement United Steel Workers v. Enterprise… …   Law dictionary

  • essence — Essence. s. f. v. Ce par quoy la chose est ce qu elle est, ce qui constituë la chose. L essence divine. l essence des choses. l essence de l homme est d estre animal raisonnable. ces paroles sont de l essence du sacrement. Essence, signifie parmi …   Dictionnaire de l’Académie française

  • essence — ► NOUN 1) the intrinsic nature of something; the quality which determines something s character. 2) an extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other substance and used for flavouring or scent. ● in essence Cf. ↑in essence ● of the essence …   English terms dictionary

  • essence — late 14c., essencia (respelled late 15c. on French model), from L. essentia being, essence, abstract noun formed in imitation of Gk. ousia being, essence (from on, gen. ontos, prp. of einai to be ), from essent , prp. stem of esse to be, from PIE …   Etymology dictionary

  • essence — [es′əns] n. [ME < OFr & L essentia < esse, to be: for IE base see IS1] 1. something that is, or exists; entity 2. that which makes something what it is; intrinsic, fundamental nature or most important quality (of something); essential being …   English World dictionary

  • essence — [n1] heart, significance aspect, attribute, backbone, base, basis, be all and endall*, being, bottom, bottom line*, burden, caliber, character, chief constituent, constitution, core, crux, element, entity, essentia, essentiality, fiber, form,… …   New thesaurus

  • Essence — Es sence, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Essenced}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Essencing}.] To perfume; to scent. Essenced fops. Addison. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Essence — (fr., spr. Essangs), so v.w. Essenz, s.d.; z.B. E. de Mirhane, s.u. Bittermandelöl. E. d Orient (spr. Essangs d Oriang), ein in Chalons fur Saȏne fabricirter Perlenglanz zu Glasperlen …   Pierer’s Universal-Lexikon

  • Essence — (franz., spr. āngß ), Essenz (s.d.); E. d Orient, E. de perles, soviel wie Perlenessenz; E. de Mirbane, s. Nitrobenzol …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

Источник

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French essence, from Latin essentia (“the being or essence of a thing”), from an artificial formation of esse (“to be”), to translate Ancient Greek οὐσία (ousía, “being”), from ὤν (ṓn), present participle of εἰμί (eimí, “I am, exist”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈɛsəns/
  • Rhymes: -ɛsəns

Noun[edit]

essence (countable and uncountable, plural essences)

  2. The inherent nature of a thing or idea.
    • 1713 September 21, Joseph Addison, The Guardian, collected in The Works of the Late Right Honorable Joseph Addison, volume IV, Birmingham: John Baskerville, published 1761, page 263:
      CHARITY is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands, ſays an old writer. Gifts and alms are the expreſſions, not the eſſence of this virtue.

    • 1824, Walter Savage Landor, “Oliver Cromwel and Walter Noble”, in Imaginary Conversations, volume I, 2nd edition, London: Henry Colburn, published 1826, page 105:

      They [the laws] are at present, both in form and essence, the greatest curse that society labours under ; the scorn of the wicked, the consternation of the good, the refuge of those who violate, and the ruin of those who appeal to them.

  3. (philosophy) The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.
  4. Constituent substance.

    • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 423–429:

      For Spirits when they pleaſe / Can either Sex aſſume, or both ; ſo ſoft / And uncompounded is their Eſſence pure, / Not ti’d or manacl’d with joynt or limb, / Nor founded on the brittle ſtrength of bones, / Like cumbrous fleſh […]

  5. A being; especially, a purely spiritual being.

    • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 132–139:

      And put to proof his high Supremacy, / Whether upheld by ſtrength, or Chance, or Fate, / Too well I ſee and rue the dire event, / That with ſad overthrow and foul defeat / Hath loſt us Heav’n, and all this mighty Hoſt / In horrible deſtruction laid thus low, / As far as Gods and Heav’nly Eſſences / Can Periſh.

    • 1824, Washington Irving, “The Adventure of the German Student”, in The Works of Washington Irving, volume VII, new edition, New York: G. P. Putnam & Company, published 1853, page 55:

      He [Gottfried Wolfgang] had been indulging in fanciful speculations on spiritual essences, until, like Swedenborg, he had an ideal world of his own around him.

  6. A significant feature of something.
    (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  7. The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through a distillation process.

    essence of Jojoba

  8. An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter used for flavouring, or as a restorative.

    • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 150:

      There was no one to cook the necessary food that the invalids required to pick up their strength; no fowls to be bought, to make into the essence that is so generally given to fever patients wherever I have been since.

    vanilla essence

  9. Fragrance, a perfume.

    • 1712, Alexander Pope, “The Rape of the Lock”, in The Beauties of Pope, London: G. Kearsley, published 1783, page 36:

      Our humbler province is to tend the Fair, / Not a leſs pleaſing, tho’ leſs glorious care ; / To ſave the powder from too rude a gale, / Nor let th’ impriſon’d eſſences exhale […]

Synonyms[edit]

  • (inherent nature): quintessence, whatness; See also Thesaurus:essence
  • (significant feature): gist, crux; See also Thesaurus:gist
  • (fragrance): aroma, bouquet; See also Thesaurus:aroma

Derived terms[edit]

  • in essence
  • k-essence
  • of the essence; time is of the essence
  • vanilla essence

[edit]

  • essential
  • essentially
  • essentialism
  • quintessential

Translations[edit]

inherent nature

  • Arabic: جَوْهَر‎ (ar) m (jawhar)
  • Armenian: էություն (hy) (ēutʿyun)
  • Azerbaijani: cövhər, mahiyyət
  • Belarusian: су́тнасць f (sútnascʹ), суць f (sucʹ)
  • Bulgarian: съ́щност (bg) f (sǎ́štnost)
  • Catalan: bessó (ca) m
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin: 本質／本质 (zh) (běnzhì, běnzhí)
  • Czech: esence f
  • Danish: essens c
  • Dutch: essentie (nl)
  • Esperanto: esenco (eo)
  • Estonian: olemus
  • Finnish: olemus (fi), perusolemus, villakoiran ydin
  • French: essence (fr) f
  • Galician: celme (gl) m, esencia f
  • Georgian: არსი (arsi), დედაარსი (dedaarsi), რაობა (raoba)
  • German: Wesen (de) n
  • Gothic: 𐍅𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍃 f (wists)
  • Greek:
    Ancient: οὐσία f (ousía)
  • Hebrew: מַהוּת‎ f (mahút)
  • Hindi: ज़ात (hi) f (zāt)
  • Hungarian: lényeg (hu)
  • Indonesian: esensi (id), hakikat (id)
  • Irish: garr m
  • Italian: essenza (it) f
  • Japanese: 本質 (ja) (ほんしつ, honshitsu)
  • Kazakh: маңыз (mañyz), мән (män), мазмұн (mazmūn)
  • Korean: 본질(本質) (ko) (bonjil)
  • Latin: essentia f
  • Macedonian: су́штина f (súština)
  • Maltese: essenza f
  • Maori: tino (mi), ngako
  • Mongolian: мөн чанар (mön čanar)
  • Norwegian:
    Bokmål: essens m
    Nynorsk: essens m
  • Occitan: esséncia (oc) f
  • Persian: جوهر‎ (fa) (jowhar)
  • Polish: esencja (pl) f
  • Portuguese: essência (pt) f
  • Russian: су́щность (ru) f (súščnostʹ), суть (ru) f (sutʹ)
  • Sanskrit: धर्मता (sa) f (dharmatā)
  • Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic: би̑т m, суштѝна f (Serbian)
    Roman: bȋt (sh) m, suštìna (sh) f (Serbian)
  • Slovak: esencia f, podstata
  • Slovene: bistvo n
  • Spanish: esencia (es) f
  • Swedish: essens (sv) c
  • Tajik: ҷавҳар (javhar)
  • Turkish: cevher (tr)
  • Ukrainian: су́тність f (sútnistʹ), суть f (sutʹ)
  • Uzbek: mohiyat (uz)
  • Vietnamese: bản chất (vi) (本質)
  • Welsh: rhin f

significant feature

  • Finnish: tärkeä piirre, tuntomerkki (fi)
  • Galician: esencia f
  • German: Essenz (de) f, Wesen (de) n
  • Italian: essenza (it) f
  • Russian: ва́жная черта́ f (vážnaja čertá)
  • Spanish: esencia (es) f

concentrate

  • Bulgarian: есе́нция (bg) f (eséncija), екстра́кт (bg) m (ekstrákt)
  • Chinese:
    Cantonese: 精 (zing1)
    Mandarin: 精 (zh) (jīng)
  • Danish: essens c, koncentrat n
  • Dutch: essence (nl), aftreksel (nl)
  • Finnish: esanssi (fi)
  • Galician: esencia f
  • German: Essenz (de) f, Extrakt (de) m
  • Hebrew: תַּמְצִית‎ (he) f (tamtzít)
  • Hungarian: kivonat (hu), eszencia (hu)
  • Italian: essenza (it) f
  • Macedonian: екстра́кт m (ekstrákt), концентра́т m (koncentrát)
  • Norwegian:
    Bokmål: essens m
    Nynorsk: essens m
  • Portuguese: essência (pt) f
  • Russian: эссе́нция (ru) f (essɛ́ncija), концентра́т (ru) m (koncentrát), экстра́кт (ru) m (ekstrákt)
  • Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic: есѐнција f
    Roman: esèncija (sh) f
  • Slovak: esencia, extrakt
  • Slovene: esenca f
  • Spanish: esencia (es) f, extracto (es) m

fragrance

  • Bulgarian: парфю́м (bg) m (parfjúm), арома́т (bg) m (aromát)
  • Dutch: parfum (nl) m or n
  • Galician: esencia f
  • Georgian: სურნელება (surneleba)
  • German: Essenz (de) f, Parfüm (de) n
  • Hebrew: ניחוח‎ (he) m (nikhó`akh), בושם‎ (he) m (bósem)
  • Macedonian: парфе́м m (parfém), аро́ма f (aróma)
  • Maori: waitāwhara (for flavouring food)
  • Portuguese: essência (pt) f, fragrância (pt) f
  • Russian: арома́т (ru) m (aromát)
  • Slovene: esenca f
  • Spanish: esencia (es) f
  • Turkish: esans (tr)

true nature of something

  • Belarusian: су́тнасць f (sútnascʹ)
  • Bulgarian: съ́щина (bg) f (sǎ́ština), същество́ (bg) n (sǎštestvó)
  • Catalan: bessó (ca) m
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin: 本質／本质 (zh) (běnzhì, běnzhí)
  • Czech: esence
  • Dutch: wezen (nl) n
  • Finnish: perusolemus
  • French: essence (fr) f
  • Galician: esencia f
  • German: Wesen (de) n
  • Hebrew: מַהוּת‎ f (mahút)
  • Italian: essenza (it) f
  • Japanese: 本質 (ja) (ほんしつ, honshitsu)
  • Korean: 본질 (ko) (bonjil)
  • Latin: essentia f
  • Macedonian: су́штина f (súština)
  • Maltese: essenza f
  • Mongolian: мөн чанар (mön čanar)
  • Norwegian:
    Bokmål: essens m
    Nynorsk: essens m
  • Portuguese: essência (pt) f
  • Russian: су́щность (ru) f (súščnostʹ), существо́ (ru) n (suščestvó)
  • Slovak: esencia
  • Slovene: bistvo n
  • Spanish: esencia (es) f
  • Ukrainian: су́тність f (sútnistʹ)
  • Vietnamese: bản chất (vi)
  • Welsh: rhin f
  • Yiddish: תּוך‎ m (tokh)

Further reading[edit]

  • essence in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • “essence”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams[edit]

  • senesce

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French, from Latin essentia. Sense 2 very likely from Latin edō (“eat”), in the sense of ‘what is eaten, fuel’. Many forms of the latter are indistinguishable from the former, and so the confusion with essence is very understandable.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /e.sɑ̃s/, /ɛ.sɑ̃s/

Noun[edit]

essence f (plural essences)

  1. (philosophy, theology) essence
  2. petrol, gasoline
  3. essence, essential oil

Derived terms[edit]

  • pompe à essence
  • poste d’essence
  • station essence

Descendants[edit]

  • → Dutch: essence
  • → Finnish: esanssi
  • → Romanian: esență
  • → Turkish: esans
  • → Vietnamese: ét-xăng

Further reading[edit]

  • “essence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams[edit]

  • censées
Источник

Essence (Latin: essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity. Essence is contrasted with accident: a property that the entity or substance has contingently, without which the substance can still retain its identity.

The concept originates rigorously with Aristotle (although it can also be found in Plato), who used the Greek expression to ti ên einai (τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι, literally meaning “the what it was to be” and corresponding to the scholastic term quiddity) or sometimes the shorter phrase to ti esti (τὸ τί ἐστι, literally meaning “the what it is” and corresponding to the scholastic term haecceity) for the same idea. This phrase presented such difficulties for its Latin translators that they coined the word essentia (English “essence”) to represent the whole expression. For Aristotle and his scholastic followers, the notion of essence is closely linked to that of definition (ὁρισμός horismos).

In the history of Western philosophy, essence has often served as a vehicle for doctrines that tend to individuate different forms of existence as well as different identity conditions for objects and properties; in this logical meaning, the concept has given a strong theoretical and common-sense basis to the whole family of logical theories based on the “possible worlds” analogy set up by Leibniz and developed in the intensional logic from Carnap to Kripke, which was later challenged by “extensionalist” philosophers such as Quine.

Be Being Presence Spirit Soul Essence I Am

Be

Etymology

The English word essence comes from Latin essentia, via French essence. The original Latin word was created purposefully, by Ancient Roman philosophers, in order to provide an adequate Latin translation for the Greek term οὐσία (ousia). Stoic philosopher Seneca (d. 65 AD) attributed creation of the word to Cicero (d. 43 BC), while rhetor Quintilian (d. 100 AD) claimed that the word was created much earlier, by writer Plautus (184 BC). Early use of the term is also attested in works of Apuleius (d. 170 AD) and Tertullian (d. 240 AD). During Late Antiquity, the term was often used in Christian theology, and through the works of Augustine (d. 430), Boethius (d. 524) and later theologians, who wrote in Medieval Latin, it became the basis for consequent creation of derived terms in many languages.

Philosophy

Ontological status

In his dialogues Plato suggests that concrete beings acquire their essence through their relations to “Forms”—abstract universals logically or ontologically separate from the objects of sense perception. These Forms are often put forth as the models or paradigms of which sensible things are “copies”. When used in this sense, the word form is often capitalized. Sensible bodies are in constant flux and imperfect and hence, by Plato’s reckoning, less real than the Forms which are eternal, unchanging and complete. Typical examples of Forms given by Plato are largeness, smallness, equality, unity, goodness, beauty and justice.

Aristotle moves the Forms of Plato to the nucleus of the individual thing, which is called ousia or substance. Essence is the ti of the thing, the to ti en einai. Essence corresponds to the ousia’s definition; essence is a real and physical aspect of the ousia (Aristotle, Metaphysics, I).

According to nominalists (Roscelin of Compiègne, William of Ockham, Bernard of Chartres), universals aren’t concrete entities, just voice’s sounds; there are only individuals: “nam cum habeat eorum sententia nihil esse praeter individuum […]” (Roscelin, De gener. et spec., 524). Universals are words that can to call several individuals; for example the word “homo”. Therefore, a universal is reduced to a sound’s emission (Roscelin, De generibus et speciebus).

John Locke distinguished between “real essences” and “nominal essences”. Real essences are the thing(s) that makes a thing a thing, whereas nominal essences are our conception of what makes a thing a thing.

According to Edmund Husserl essence is ideal. However, ideal means that essence is an intentional object of consciousness. Essence is interpreted as sense (E. Husserl, Ideas pertaining to a pure phenomenology and to a phenomenological philosophy, paragraphs 3 and 4).

Existentialism

Main article: Meaning (existential)

Existentialism was coined by Jean-Paul Sartre‘s endorsement of Martin Heidegger’s statement that for human beings “existence precedes essence.” In as much as “essence” is a cornerstone of all metaphysical philosophy and of Rationalism, Sartre’s statement was a repudiation of the philosophical system that had come before him (and, in particular, that of Husserl, Hegel, and Heidegger). Instead of “is-ness” generating “actuality,” he argued that existence and actuality come first, and the essence is derived afterward. For Kierkegaard, it is the individual person who is the supreme moral entity, and the personal, subjective aspects of human life that are the most important; also, for Kierkegaard all of this had religious implications.

In metaphysics

“Essence,” in metaphysics, is often synonymous with the soul, and some existentialists argue that individuals gain their souls and spirits after they exist, that they develop their souls and spirits during their lifetimes. For Kierkegaard, however, the emphasis was upon essence as “nature.” For him, there is no such thing as “human nature” that determines how a human will behave or what a human will be. First, he or she exists, and then comes property. Jean-Paul Sartre’s more materialist and skeptical existentialism furthered this existentialist tenet by flatly refuting any metaphysical essence, any soul, and arguing instead that there is merely existence, with attributes as essence.

Thus, in existentialist discourse, essence can refer to physical aspect or property to the ongoing being of a person (the character or internally determined goals), or to the infinite inbound within the human (which can be lost, can atrophy, or can be developed into an equal part with the finite), depending upon the type of existentialist discourse.

Marxism’s essentialism

Karl Marx was a follower of Hegel’s thought, and he, too, developed a philosophy in reaction to his master. In his early work, Marx used Aristotelian style teleology and derived a concept of humanity’s essential nature. Marx’s Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 describe a theory of alienation based on human existence being completely different from human essence. Marx said human nature was social, and that humanity had the distinct essence of free activity and conscious thought.

Some scholars, such as Philip Kain, have argued that Marx abandoned the idea of a human essence, but many other scholars point to Marx’s continued discussion of these ideas despite the decline of terms such as essence and alienation in his later work.

Religion

Buddhism

Within the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism, Candrakirti identifies the self as:

an essence of things that does not depend on others; it is an intrinsic nature. The non-existence of that is selflessness.

— Bodhisattvayogacaryācatuḥśatakaṭikā 256.1.7

Buddhapālita adds, while commenting on Nagārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā,

What is the reality of things just as it is? It is the absence of essence. Unskilled persons whose eye of intelligence is obscured by the darkness of delusion conceive of an essence of things and then generate attachment and hostility with regard to them.

— Buddhapālita-mula-madhyamaka-vrtti, P5242, 73.5.6-74.1.2

For the Madhyamaka Buddhists, ‘Emptiness‘ (also known as Anatta or Anatman) is the strong assertion that all phenomena are empty of any essence, and that anti-essentialism lies at the root of Buddhist praxis and it is the innate belief in essence that is considered to be an afflictive obscuration which serves as the root of all suffering. However, the Madhyamaka also rejects the tenets of Idealism, Materialism or Nihilism; instead, the ideas of truth or existence, along with any assertions that depend upon them are limited to their function within the contexts and conventions that assert them, possibly somewhat akin to Relativism or Pragmatism. For the Madhyamaka, replacement paradoxes such as Ship of Theseus are answered by stating that the Ship of Theseus remains so (within the conventions that assert it) until it ceases to function as the Ship of Theseus.

In Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika Chapter XV examines essence itself.

Hinduism

In understanding any individual personality, a distinction is made between one’s Swadharma (essence) and Swabhava (mental habits and conditionings of ego personality). Svabhava is the nature of a person, which is a result of his or her samskaras (impressions created in the mind due to one’s interaction with the external world). These samskaras create habits and mental models and those become our nature. While there is another kind of svabhava that is a pure internal quality — smarana — we are here focusing only on the svabhava that was created due to samskaras (because to discover the pure, internal svabhava and smarana, one should become aware of one’s samskaras and take control over them). Dharma is derived from the root dhr “to hold.” It is that which holds an entity together. That is, Dharma is that which gives integrity to an entity and holds the core quality and identity (essence), form and function of that entity. Dharma is also defined as righteousness and duty. To do one’s dharma is to be righteous, to do one’s dharma is to do one’s duty (express one’s essence).

See also

  • Avicenna
  • Essentialism
  • Hypokeimenon
  • Modal logic
  • Phenomenon
  • Physical ontology
  • Smarana
  • Theory of forms
  • Transubstantiation

Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Источник

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