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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Quintessence \Quin*tes"sence\, v. t.
To distil or extract as a quintessence; to reduce to a
quintessence. [R.] --Stirling. "Truth quintessenced and
raised to the highest power." --J. A. Symonds.
[1913 Webster]


Quintessence \Quin*tes"sence\, n. [F., fr. L. quinta essentia
fifth essence. See {Quint}, and {Essence}.]
1. The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a
natural body. See {Ferment oils}, under {Ferment}. [Obs.]
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Note: The ancient Greeks recognized four elements, fire, air,
water, and earth. The Pythagoreans added a fifth and
called it nether, the fifth essence, which they said
flew upward at creation and out of it the stars were
made. The alchemists sometimes considered alcohol, or
the ferment oils, as the fifth essence.
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2. Hence: An extract from anything, containing its rarest
virtue, or most subtle and essential constituent in a
small quantity; pure or concentrated essence.
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Let there be light, said God; and forthwith light
Ethereal, first of things, quintessence pure,
Sprung from the deep. --Milton.
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3. The most characteristic form or most perfect example of
some type of object.
[PJC]