quintessence

English

Etymology

PIE word
*pénkʷe

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.

Pronunciation

• enPR: kwĭn-tĕsʹ-əns, kwĭn-tĕsʹ-ĭns, IPA^(key): /kwɪnˈtɛs.əns/, /kwɪnˈtɛs.ɪns/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

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.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:model

   • 1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, (please specify the book or page number):

     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.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:non-mixture

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

3. The essence of a thing in its purest and most concentrated form.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:gist

   • 1599, T[homas] M[offett], The Silkewormes, and Their Flies: […], London: […] V[alentine] S[immes] for Nicholas Ling, […], →OCLC, pages 67–68:

     For vvhat is ſilke but eu'n a Quinteſſence, / Made vvithout hands beyond al humane ſenſe? / A quinteſſence? nay vvel it may be call'd, / A deathleſſe tincture, ſent vs from the skies, / VVhoſe colour ſtands, vvhose gloſſe is ne're appalld, […]

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 243–245:

     Let ther be Light, ſaid God, and forthwith Light, / Ethereal, firſt of things, quinteſſence pure, / Sprung from the Deep, […]

4. (alchemy) The fifth alchemical element, or essence, after earth, air, fire, and water that fills the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere.

   Synonym: aether

5. (physics) A hypothetical form of dark energy postulated to explain observations of an accelerating universe.

Derived terms

• quintessential
• quintessentially

Translations

most perfect example of its type

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 精粹 (zh) (jīngcuì), 典範／典范 (zh) (diǎnfàn)

• Danish: kvintessens c
• Dutch: quintessens (nl) f
• Finnish: perikuva (fi), ruumiillistuma
• French: quintessence (fr) f
• Galician: quintaesencia f
• Georgian: კვინტესენცია (ka) (ḳvinṭesencia)
• German: Inbegriff (de) m, Quintessenz (de) f
• Greek: πεμπτουσία (el) f (pemptousía)
• Interlingua: quintessentia
• Italian: quintessenza (it) f
• Lithuanian: kvintesencija f
• Persian: نمونهٔ اعلی (nemune-ye a'lâ)
• Polish: kwintesencja (pl) f
• Portuguese: quintessência (pt) f
• Russian: квинтэссе́нция (ru) f (kvintessɛ́ncija)
• Spanish: quintaesencia (es) f
• Swedish: kvintessens (sv)
• Turkish: en mükemmel örnek (tr)
• Yiddish: תּמצית (tamtses), עיקר (iker), קווינטעסענץ (kvintesents)

pure substance

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: quintessens (nl) f
• Finnish: puhdas aine
• Galician: quintaesencia f
• Georgian: კვინტესენცია (ka) (ḳvinṭesencia)
• Greek: πεμπτουσία (el) f (pemptousía)

essence in its most pure and concentrated form

• Armenian: քվինտ-էսենցիա (hy) (kʻvint-ēsencʻia), բուն էություն (bun ēutʻyun)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: quintessens (nl) f
• Finnish: syvin olemus
• Galician: quintaesencia f
• Georgian: კვინტესენცია (ka) (ḳvinṭesencia), დედაარსი (dedaarsi)
• Greek: πεμπτουσία (el) f (pemptousía)
• Kazakh: түйін (tüiın)
• Maori: tino (mi)

alchemy: fifth alchemical element — see aether

physics: hypothetical form of dark energy

• Finnish: kvintessenssi

Verb

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.

References

• “quintessence”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “quintessence”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “quintessence”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

French

Etymology

Univerbation of quinte essence, itself borrowed from Medieval Latin quinta essentia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɛ̃.tɛ.sɑ̃s/ ~ /kɛ̃.te.sɑ̃s/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

quintessence f (plural quintessences)

1. quintessence (all senses)

Further reading

• “quintessence”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.