quintessence

[kwin-tes-uh ns]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR quintessence ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the pure and concentrated essence of a substance.

the most perfect embodiment of something.

(in ancient and medieval philosophy) the fifth essence or element, ether, supposed to be the constituent matter of the heavenly bodies, the others being air, fire, earth, and water.

Nearby words

Origin of quintessence

1400–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin quīnta essentia fifth essence

Related formsquin·tes·sen·tial

[kwin-tuh-sen-shuh l] /ˌkwɪn təˈsɛn ʃəl/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quintessence

That, America, is the quintessence of naturally occurring British-cute.
UK’s No 1 Churchman Doubts Existence of God: The Archbishop of Canterbury Thinks Deep When Running With His Dog|Tim Teeman|September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The actor is the quintessence of smooth, first as Remington Steele, then James Bond.
Pierce Brosnan’s Life After Bond: From Action Hero to Losing His Daughter to Cancer|Tim Teeman|July 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In recent years, Stoner entered a category of which it soon became the quintessence.
Famous for Not Being Famous: Enough About ‘Stoner’|Drew Smith|October 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Holmes was the quintessence of the Victorian rationalism, “the most perfect and reasoning machine that the world had seen.”
How Sherlock Holmes Took on the Capitalists|Ian Klaus|December 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST

“Innocence is the quintessence of the snapshot,” Lisette Model would write.
Robert Frank's America|Philip Gefter|September 17, 2009|DAILY BEAST
What a sense of comical responsibility and mischief there is in his face, the quintessence, so to speak, of puppydom.
Giotto|Harry Quilter
It is great painting in miniature, genius in its quintessence, a gem of perfect water.
Life of Charles Dickens|Frank Marzials
There, the objector submits, lies the quintessence of the matter.
Mankind in the Making|H. G. Wells
Perhaps nothing else than that special intensity of existence which is the quintessence of youthful aspirations.
The Shadow-Line|Joseph Conrad
But it is not a question of extracting a quintessence, or of fencing the soul of doctrine within a few summary formulae.
A New Philosophy: Henri Bergson|Edouard le Roy

British Dictionary definitions for quintessence

quintessence

noun

the most typical representation of a quality, state, etc

an extract of a substance containing its principle in its most concentrated form

(in ancient and medieval philosophy) ether, the fifth and highest essence or element after earth, water, air, and fire, which was thought to be the constituent matter of the heavenly bodies and latent in all things

Word Origin for quintessence

C15: via French from Medieval Latin quinta essentia the fifth essence, translation of Greek pemptē ousia

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for quintessence

quintessence

early 15c., in ancient and medieval philosophy, "pure essence, substance of which the heavenly bodies are composed," literally "fifth essence," from Middle French quinte essence (14c.), from Medieval Latin quinta essentia, from Latin quinta, fem. of quintus "fifth" (see quinque-) + essentia (see Parousia).

A loan-translation of Greek pempte ousia, the "ether" added by Aristotle to the four known elements (water, earth, fire, air) and said to permeate all things. Its extraction was one of the chief goals of alchemy. Sense of "purest essence" (of a situation, character, etc.) is first recorded 1580s.