n. [ F., fr. L. quinta essentia fifth essence. See Quint, and Essence. ]
☞ The ancient Greeks recognized four elements, fire, air, water, and earth. The Pythagoreans added a fifth and called it nether, the fifth essence, which they said flew upward at creation and out of it the stars were made. The alchemists sometimes considered alcohol, or the ferment oils, as the fifth essence. [ 1913 Webster ]
Let there be light, said God; and forthwith light
Ethereal, first of things, quintessence pure,
Sprung from the deep. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t. To distil or extract as a quintessence; to reduce to a quintessence. [ R. ] Stirling. “Truth quintessenced and raised to the highest power.” J. A. Symonds. [ 1913 Webster ]