I. |kwintə̇|senchəl adjective
Etymology: from quintessence (I) , after English essence: essential
: being a quintessence : purest of its kind : typical
quintessential extract of mediocrity — George Eliot
the task of defining primary or quintessential literary value — C.W.Shumaker
not aristocrats, but quintessential proletarians — M.S.Dworkin
• quin·tes·sen·ti·al·i·ty ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷chēˈaləd.ē noun
• quin·tes·sen·tial·ly | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷|sench(ə)lē adverb
II. noun
: a quintessential element — usually used in plural
compendium of the essentials and the quintessentials of originality — J.L.Lowes
compress the quintessentials of the metropolis's metabolism into a book — Cleveland Rodgers