quintessence
/kwɪnˈtesəns/kwin-TEH-suhns
/kwɪnˈtɛsəns/kwin-TEH-suhns
Meaningthe fifth essence
Common meaning: the purest form of something
- quintfive; fifthLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1514 · scan
- essenceEnglish essence: inner nature
Journey through time
- Latinquīnque; quīntus‘five’
- Frenchquintessence
- Englishquintessence‘the purest form of something’ · today
quint also in: quintet
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin quīnque; quīntus ‘five; fifth’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry QUINTESSENCE, p. 485 · dictionary scan
Roots
- quīnque; quīntus Latin “five; fifth”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app