LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

essentia

essentia f (genitive essentiae)
Classical[ɛsˈsɛn.ti.a]Ecclesiastical[esˈsɛn.t͡si.a]

Meaning

  1. feminineessence, being

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeessentiaessentiae
genitiveessentiaeessentiārum
dativeessentiaeessentiīs
accusativeessentiamessentiās
ablativeessentiāessentiīs
vocativeessentiaessentiae

essentĭa, ae, f. sum,
I. the being or essence of a thing; transl. of the Gr. οὐσία: haec interpretatio (rhetorices) non minus dura est, quam illa Flavii essentia atque entia, Quint. 2, 14, 2; 3, 6, 23; 8, 3, 33: cupio, propitiis auribus tuis, essentiam dicere. Ciceronem auctorem hujus verbi habeo, Sen. Ep. 58, 6.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁es-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ésti
  3. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*bʰúHt
  5. Proto-Italic*ezom~*som
  6. Archaic Latin 𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌(esom)
  7. Old Latinesum
  8. Latinessentia

Latin *essēns Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin essentia From *essēns (hypothetical present participle of sum (“to be”)) + -ia, by analogy with the present infinitive esse, and other derivations from the same root, such as absentia (from absum) and praesentia (from praesum); coined by Cicero to translate Ancient Greek οὐσία (ousía), which is its exact cognate. Literally, “beingness”.

Descendants
  • Catalanessència
  • Englishessence
  • Frenchessence
  • Romanianesențăfrom French essence
  • GermanEssenz
  • Italianessenza
  • Occitanesséncia
  • Portugueseessência
  • Spanishesencia
  • Bulgarianесе́нция

In English words that came into English from essentia

  • essenceessentia
  • essentialessentiālis

Quick answers

What does essentia mean in Latin?
essentia, a noun, means “essence, being”.
What is the genitive of essentia?
The genitive singular is essentiae. essentia is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce essentia?
In classical Latin, [ɛsˈsɛn.ti.a]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [esˈsɛn.t͡si.a].
Where does essentia come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- → Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti → Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- → Proto-Indo-European *bʰúHt → Proto-Italic *ezom~*som → Archaic Latin 𐌄𐌔𐌏𐌌 (esom) → Old Latin esum → Latin essentia.