[es.sence] n [ME, fr. MF & L; MF, fr. L essentia, fr. esse to be--more at is] (14c) 1 a: the permanent as contrasted with the accidental element of being b: the individual, real, or ultimate nature of a thing esp. as opposed to its existence c: the properties or attributes by means of which something can be placed in its proper class or identified as being what it is
2: something that exists: entity 3 a (1): a volatile substance or constituent (as of perfume) (2): a constituent or derivative possessing the special qualities (as of a plant or drug) in concentrated form; also: a preparation of such an essence or a synthetic substitute b: odor, perfume
4: one that possesses or exhibits a quality in abundance as if in concentrated form "she was the ~ of punctuality" -- in essence : in or by its very nature: essentially, basically "was in essence an honest person" -- of the essence : of the utmost importance "time is of the essence"