Result from Foreign Dictionaries (5 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: 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 nominal essence. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] The laws are at present, both in form and essence, the greatest curse that society labors under. --Landor. [1913 Webster] Gifts and alms are the expressions, not the essence of this virtue [charity]. --Addison. [1913 Webster] The essence of Addison's humor is irony. --Courthope. [1913 Webster] 3. Constituent substance. [1913 Webster] And uncompounded is their essence pure. --Milton. [1913 Webster] 4. A being; esp., a purely spiritual being. [1913 Webster] As far as gods and heavenly essences Can perish. --Milton. [1913 Webster] He had been indulging in fanciful speculations on spiritual essences, until . . . he had and ideal world of his own around him. --W. Irving. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster] 6. Perfume; odor; scent; or the volatile matter constituting perfume. [1913 Webster] Nor let the essences exhale. --Pope. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Essence \Es"sence\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Essenced}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Essencing}.] To perfume; to scent. "Essenced fops." --Addison. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: essence n 1: 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" [syn: {kernel}, {substance}, {core}, {center}, {centre}, {essence}, {gist}, {heart}, {heart and soul}, {inwardness}, {marrow}, {meat}, {nub}, {pith}, {sum}, {nitty-gritty}] 2: any substance possessing to a high degree the predominant properties of a plant or drug or other natural product from which it is extracted 3: the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work [syn: {effect}, {essence}, {burden}, {core}, {gist}] 4: a toiletry that emits and diffuses a fragrant odor [syn: {perfume}, {essence}] From French-English FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.3.4 [fd-fra-eng]: essence /ɛsɑ̃s/ gasolene; gasoline; petrol From Dutch-English Freedict Dictionary ver. 0.1.3 [fd-nld-eng]: essence /ɛsɑns/ essence; gist