ESSENCE

perfume, essence

(noun) a toiletry that emits and diffuses a fragrant odor

kernel, substance, core, center, centre, essence, gist, heart, heart and soul, inwardness, marrow, meat, nub, pith, sum, nitty-gritty

(noun) 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”

effect, essence, burden, core, gist

(noun) the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work

essence

(noun) any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

essence (countable and uncountable, plural essences)

The inherent nature of a thing or idea.

(philosophy) The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.

Constituent substance.

A being; especially, a purely spiritual being.

A significant feature of something.

The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through a distillation process.

An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter used for flavouring.

Fragrance, a perfume.

Synonyms

• (inherent nature): quintessence, whatness; See also essence

• (significant feature): gist, crux; See also gist

• (fragrance): aroma, bouquet; See also aroma

Anagrams

• senesce

Source: Wiktionary

Es"sence, n. Etym: [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 nominal essence.

2. The constituent quality or qualities which belong to any object, or class of objects, or on which they depend for being what they are (distinguished as real essence); the real being, divested of all logical accidents; that quality which constitutes or marks the true nature of anything; distinctive character; hence, virtue or quality of a thing, separated from its grosser parts. The laws are at present, both in form and essence, the greatest curse that society labors under. Landor. Gifts and alms are the expressions, not the essence of this virtue [charity]. Addison. The essence of Addison's humor is irony. Courthope.

3. Constituent substance. And uncompounded is their essence pure. Milton.

4. A being; esp., a purely spiritual being. As far as gods and heavenly essences Can perish. Milton. He had been indulging in fanciful speculations on spiritual essences, until . . . he had and ideal world of his own around him. W. Irving.

5. The predominant qualities or virtues of a plant or drug, extracted and refined from grosser matter; or, more strictly, the solution in spirits of wine of a volatile or essential oil; as, the essence of mint, and the like. The . . . word essence . . . scarcely underwent a more complete transformation when from being the abstract of the verb "to be," it came to denote something sufficiently concrete to be inclosed in a glass bottle. J. S. Mill.

6. Perfume; odor; scent; or the volatile matter constituting perfume. Nor let the essences exhale. Pope.

Es"sence, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Essenced; p. pr. & vb. n. Essencing.]

Definition: To perfume; to scent. "Essenced fops." Addison.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition