# essence

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɛsəns/ · frequency rank #6,784

## Definitions
1. The inherent nature of a thing or idea.
2. The true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.
3. Constituent substance.
4. A being; especially, a purely spiritual being.
5. A significant feature of something.
6. The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through an extraction or distillation process.
7. An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter used for flavouring, or as a restorative.
8. Fragrance, a perfume.

## Etymology
From Middle English essence, from Middle French essence, from Latin essentia (“the being or essence of a thing”), from an artificial formation of esse (“to be”), to translate Ancient Greek οὐσία (ousía, “being”), from ὤν (ṓn), present participle of εἰμί (eimí, “to be, exist”).

## Easily confused with
- **Essen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/essen-vs-essence)

## Common misspellings (9)
`esence`, `esesnce`, `essance`, `essecne`, `essencce`, `essenec`, `essennce`, `essnece`, `sesence`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/essence