The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a natural body. See Ferment oils, under Ferment. [1913 Webster]
" 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." [1913 Webster]
Hence: An extract from anything, containing its rarest virtue, or most subtle and essential constituent in a small quantity; pure or concentrated essence. [1913 Webster]
"Let there be light, said God; and forthwith light
Ethereal, first of things, quintessence pure,
Sprung from the deep." [1913 Webster]
The most characteristic form or most perfect example of some type of object. [PJC]

quintessence, v. t.

To distil or extract as a quintessence; to reduce to a quintessence. J. A. Symonds. [1913 Webster]

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OXFORD DICTIONARY

quintessence, n.
1 the most essential part of any substance; a refined extract.
2 (usu. foll. by of) the purest and most perfect, or most typical, form, manifestation, or embodiment of some quality or class.
3 (in Ancient Philosophy) a fifth substance (beside the four elements) forming heavenly bodies and pervading all things.

Derivative

quintessential adj. quintessentially adv.

Etymology

ME (in sense 3) f. F f. med.L quinta essentia fifth ESSENCE

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THESAURUS

quintessence

archetype, axiom, beau ideal, bottom, center, champion, choice, chosen, classic, concentrate, concentration, core, cream, decoction, distillate, distillation, elect, elite, elixir, embodiment, epitome, essence, essential, essentiality, exemplar, extract, extraction, fabric, fat, flower, focus, fundamental, gist, gravamen, heart, hypostasis, ideal, infusion, inner essence, kernel, last word, marrow, masterpiece, masterwork, material, matter, meat, medium, mirror, model, nonesuch, nonpareil, nub, nucleus, nuts and bolts, optimum, paragon, pattern of perfection, personification, pick, pith, postulate, prime, principle, prize, prototype, purification, queen, quid, quiddity, quintessential, refinement, sap, select, soul, spirit, stuff, substance, sum and substance, superlative, the best, the best ever, the nitty-gritty, the tops, the very best, ultimate, very model, virtuality

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ROGET THESAURUS

quintessence

Intrinsicality

N intrinsicality, inbeing, inherence, inhesion, subjectiveness, ego, egohood, essence, noumenon, essentialness, essential part, quintessence, incarnation, quiddity, gist, pith, marrow, core, sap, lifeblood, backbone, heart, soul, important part, principle, nature, constitution, character, type, quality, crasis, diathesis, habit, temper, temperament, spirit, humor, grain, disposition, endowment, capacity, capability, moods, declensions, features, aspects, peculiarities, idiosyncrasy, oddity, idiocrasy, diagnostics, derived from within, subjective, intrinsic, intrinsical, fundamental, normal, implanted, inherent, essential, natural, innate, inborn, inbred, ingrained, inwrought, coeval with birth, genetous, haematobious, syngenic, radical, incarnate, thoroughbred, hereditary, inherited, immanent, congenital, congenite, connate, running in the blood, ingenerate, ingenite, indigenous, in the grain, bred in the bone, instinctive, inward, internal, to the manner born, virtual, characteristic, invariable, incurable, incorrigible, ineradicable, fixed, intrinsically, at bottom, in the main, in effect, practically, virtually, substantially, au fond, fairly, character is higher than intellect, come give us a taste of your quality, magnos homines virtute metimur non fortuna, non numero haec judicantur sed pondere, vital spark of heavenly flame.

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