本質：剝到最後剩下的那一層
這一族直接就是核心畫面本身，以及它落在「一段話、一個主張」上的樣子。
essence (core nature) · noun · C2
The most basic and important thing about something, which makes it what it is and different from other things.
本質
核心畫面
You can think of it as what is left when you boil something down: strip away everything that could change without the thing stopping being itself, and the small remainder is the essence. It works for both a substance and an idea — squeeze a mountain of flower and a few drops of concentrated liquid come out; squeeze a long argument and a single sentence comes out.
「熬煮之後剩下的那一點」。把一樣東西身上所有可以拿掉、換掉、變動了它還是它的部分全部剝掉，最後剩下的、拿掉就不再是它…更多收起
「熬煮之後剩下的那一點」。把一樣東西身上所有可以拿掉、換掉、變動了它還是它的部分全部剝掉，最後剩下的、拿掉就不再是它的那一小塊，就是 essence。這個畫面同時吃得下具體的東西和抽象的東西：一大堆玫瑰花瓣壓榨濃縮之後只留下幾滴香液；一場冗長的辯論濃縮之後只留下一句話。所以英文說 the essence of something 時，語氣常常帶著「說到底、剩下的其實只有這個」的味道。From the word’s history
Latin essentia was coined from esse ("to be") to translate Greek ousia — literally "the being-ness of a thing", the part of it that simply is what it is.
拉丁文 essentia 是從 esse（「存在、是」）造出來的抽象名詞，用來翻譯希臘文 ousía。字面意思就是「一樣東西之所以是它的那個『是』」。這個造字動機和現代的核心畫面幾乎重疊：essence 指的一直都是「拿掉就不成立」的那一層，後來的香精、要旨都是同一個濃縮動作落在不同材料上。
Wiktionary, "essence" (from Middle French essence, from Latin essentia, from esse, calquing Ancient Greek οὐσία)
Three branches
香精：真的被濃縮出來的液體
從抽象的濃縮回到看得見的濃縮：這裡的 essence 不是比喻，是真的一小瓶。
essence (flavoring extract) · noun · C2
A liquid taken from a plant or flower that has a very strong smell or taste, used especially in cooking.
香精
of the essence：只活在片語裡的「不可缺」
從「不可拿掉的那一層」滑向「不可缺少」，但這個滑動只在固定片語裡完成。
of the essence · noun · C2
Used to say that something is very important and needed, especially in the phrase of the essence.
至關重要
原始詞典資料9 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
Essencename
- 1
A female given name of African-American usage.
essencenoun/ˈɛsəns/
- 1
The inherent nature of a thing or idea.
- CHARITY is a virtue of the heart, and not of the hands, ſays an old writer. Gifts and alms are the expreſſions, not the eſſence of this virtue.
- They [the laws] are at present, both in form and essence, the greatest curse that society labours under ; the scorn of the wicked, the consternation of the good, the refuge of those who violate, and the ruin of those who appeal to them.
- 2
human-sciencesphilosophysciencesThe true nature of anything, not accidental or illusory.
- 3
Constituent substance.
- For Spirits when they pleaſe / Can either Sex aſſume, or both ; ſo ſoft / And uncompounded is their Eſſence pure, / Not ti’d or manacl’d with joynt or limb, / Nor founded on the brittle ſtrength of bones, / Like cumbrous fleſh[…]
- 4
A being; especially, a purely spiritual being.
- And put to proof his high Supremacy, / Whether upheld by ſtrength, or Chance, or Fate, / Too well I ſee and rue the dire event, / That with ſad overthrow and foul defeat / Hath loſt us Heav’n, and all this mighty Hoſt / In horrible deſtruction laid thus low, / As far as Gods and Heav’nly Eſſences / Can Periſh.
- He [Gottfried Wolfgang] had been indulging in fanciful speculations on spiritual essences, until, like Swedenborg, he had an ideal world of his own around him.
- 5
A significant feature of something.
- 6
The concentrated form of a plant or drug obtained through an extraction or distillation process.
- essence of Jojoba
- 7
An extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter used for flavouring, or as a restorative.
- vanilla essence
- She bathed the face of the sleeper with some essence, raised her in her arms, and called upon her name.
- 8
Fragrance, a perfume.
- Our humbler province is to tend the Fair, / Not a leſs pleaſing, tho’ leſs glorious care ; / To ſave the powder from too rude a gale, / Nor let th’ impriſon’d eſſences exhale[…]
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。