1. (n.) That quality which marks the true nature of anything, as a neighbor who is the essence of hospitality\; the constituent qualities of an object or being; the real being, divested of all logical accidents; distinctive character; hence, virtue or quality of a thing, separated from its grosser parts.

2. (n.) The constituent elementary notions which constitute a complex notion, and must be enumerated to define it; sometimes called the nominal essence.

3. (n.) Constituent substance.

4. (n.) A being; esp., a purely spiritual being.

5. (n.) The predominant qualities or virtues of a plant or drug, extracted and refined from grosser matter; or, more strictly, the solution in spirits of wine of a volatile or essential oil; as, the essence of mint, and the like.

6. (n.) Perfume; odor; scent; or the volatile matter constituting perfume.

7. (v. t.) To perfume; to scent.

affective meaning ambergris ambrosia aroma aromatic aromatic gum aromatic water artifact aspect at bottom attar attar of roses attribute au fond axiom balm balm of Gilead balsam basically basis bay oil be-all and end-all bearing being bench mark bergamot oil best part better part body bottom brainchild breath bulk burden cardinal point case center champaca oil chapter chief thing child civet climax coinage coloring composition concentrate concentration concern concoction connotation consequence core cornerstone creation creature crisis critical critical point crowning achievement crucial crux decoction definite odor denotation detectable odor distillate distillation drift effect effluvium element elixir emanation end product ens entity esse essential essential matter essential oil essentiality essentially exhalation existence extension extract extraction fabric fiber fixative flavor flower focus focus of attention focus of interest force form fragrance fruit fume fundamental fundamentally generality gist grammatical meaning gravamen great point handiwork head heading heart heliotrope high point hypostasis idea impact implication import important important thing in effect in essence indispensable infusion inner essence intension invention inwardness issue jasmine oil kernel keystone landmark lavender oil lexical meaning life literal meaning living issue main body main point main thing major part majority manufacture marrow mass masterpiece masterwork material material point materiality materially matter matter in hand meaning meat medium milestone mintage most motif motive musk myrcia oil myrrh nature new mintage nub nubbin nucleus nuts and bolts occurrence odor of the essence offspring opera opus opuscule origination outcome outgrowth overtone parfum perfume perfumery pertinence pith pivot plurality point point at issue point in question postulate practical consequence presence principle problem product production property purification purport quality question quid quiddity quintessence quintessential range of meaning real issue real meaning recap recapitulation redolence reference referent refinement relation relevance requisite result resume rock bottom root rose oil rubric run-through rundown salient point sap savor scent scope semantic cluster semantic field sense significance signification significatum signifie sine qua non smell soul span of meaning spirit spoor stench structural meaning stuff subject subject matter subject of thought subsistence