The AHD defines essence as:
1)The intrinsic or indispensable properties that characterize or identify something
2)The most important ingredient; the crucial element
3)The inherent unchanging nature of a thing or class of things
4)An extract that has the fundamental properties of a substance in concentrated form
5)A perfume/scent
6)One that has or shows an abundance of a quality as if highly concentrated
7)Something that exists, especially a spiritual or incorporeal entity
Phrases commonly used with this word include:
1)In essence, meaning "by nature" or "essentially"
2)Of the essence, meaning "of the greatest importance; crucial"
The etymology of the word goes back to Latin essentia,* a noun formed from esse, to be. This was created to translate the Greek ousia, formed from ousa, a form of einai, to be. The Latin essentia later went through French to become essence, which passed through Middle English as essencia.
I chose this word because it has so many different meanings, all stemming from a very basic idea, being. Also, my Herbal Essences shampoo with Rose essences inspired me to look it up. :)
*(Sorry about the previous errors, just to clarify, the presumed part of the etymology is the stem, essent. )
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The dictionary entry on this word's etymology is quite grammatical, but here's a decoding. Latin essentia is a noun formed from the Latin stem essent-, which is presumed to be a present participial form of the verb "to be," esse. (Essent- as a participle is hypothetical.) Latin generated essentia to correspond to Greek ousia, a noun formed from ousa, the feminine present participle of the Greek verb "to be," einai.
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