quintessence

From Middle English, borrowed from Middle French, from Medieval Latin quinta essentia (“fifth essence, aether”). "Essence" in this context is a synonym for "element". In pre-atomic/Aristotlean theory, there are four known elements or essences — Earth, Air, Fire and Water — and a putative fifth element (aether), which is considered to be of exceptional superior quality to the other four basic elements.

• enPR: kwĭn-tĕsʹ-əns, kwĭn-tĕsʹ-ĭns, IPA^(key): /kwɪn.ˈtɛs.əns/, /kwɪn.ˈtɛs.ɨns/

quintessence (countable and uncountable, plural quintessences)

1. A thing that is the most perfect example of its type; the most perfect embodiment of something; epitome, prototype.
   • 1837 Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History

     As families and kindreds sometimes do; producing, after long ages of unnoted notability, some living quintescence of all the qualities they had, to flame forth as a man world-noted[.]

2. A pure substance.
3. The essence of a thing in its purest and most concentrated form.
4. (alchemy) The fifth alchemical element, or essence, after earth, air, fire, and water
5. (physics) A hypothetical form of dark energy postulated to explain observations of an accelerating universe.

• (most perfect example of its type): See also Thesaurus:model
• (pure substance): See also Thesaurus:non-mixture
• (essence of a thing in its purest and most concentrated form): See also Thesaurus:gist

• quintessential
• quintessentially

quintessence (third-person singular simple present quintessences, present participle quintessencing, simple past and past participle quintessenced)

1. (transitive) To reduce to its purest and most concentrated essence.

• quintessence in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “quintessence” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.
• “quintessence” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

quintessence f (plural quintessences)

1. quintessence (all senses)