Quintessence Definition
kwĭn-tĕsəns
noun
The pure, concentrated essence of anything.
Webster's New World
The purest or most typical instance.
The quintessence of evil.
American Heritage
In ancient and medieval philosophy, the fifth essence, or ultimate substance, of which the heavenly bodies were thought to be composed: distinguished from the four elements (air, fire, water, and earth)
Webster's New World
The most nearly perfect or most typical manifestation of a quality or thing.
Webster's New World
A form of dark energy due to a hypothetical scalar field that permeates all space, the energy density of which varies across space and time, in contrast to the cosmological constant.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Other Word Forms of Quintessence
Noun
Singular:
quintessence
Plural:
quintessencesOrigin of Quintessence
-
Middle English from Old French quinte essence fifth essence from Medieval Latin quīnta essentia (translation of Greek pemptē ousiā) Latin quīnta feminine of quīntus fifth penkwe in Indo-European roots Latin essentia essence essence
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Middle English, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin quinta essentia "fifth essence".
From Wiktionary
Find Similar Words
Find similar words to quintessence using the buttons below.