different between quintessence vs wonderful

English

Etymology

From Middle English, borrowed from Middle French, from Medieval Latin quinta essentia (“fifth essence, aether”). "Essence" in this context is a synonym for "element". In pre-atomic/Aristotlean theory, there are four known elements or essences — Earth, Air, Fire and Water — and a putative fifth element (aether), which is considered to be of exceptional superior quality to the other four basic elements.

Pronunciation

• enPR: kw?n-t?s?-?ns, kw?n-t?s?-?ns, IPA^(key): /kw?n.?t?s.?ns/, /kw?n.?t?s.?ns/

Noun

quintessence (countable and uncountable, plural quintessences)

1. A thing that is the most perfect example of its type; the most perfect embodiment of something; epitome, prototype.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:model

   • 1837 Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History

     As families and kindreds sometimes do; producing, after long ages of unnoted notability, some living quintescence of all the qualities they had, to flame forth as a man world-noted[.]

2. A pure substance.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:non-mixture

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

3. The essence of a thing in its purest and most concentrated form.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:gist
4. (alchemy) The fifth alchemical element, or essence, after earth, air, fire, and water that fills the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere.

   Synonym: aether

5. (physics) A hypothetical form of dark energy postulated to explain observations of an accelerating universe.

Derived terms

• quintessential
• quintessentially

Translations

Verb

quintessence (third-person singular simple present quintessences, present participle quintessencing, simple past and past participle quintessenced)

1. (transitive) To reduce to its purest and most concentrated essence.

References

• quintessence in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “quintessence”, in Online Etymology Dictionary
• “quintessence” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??.t?.s??s/

Noun

quintessence f (plural quintessences)

1. quintessence (all senses)

English

Alternative forms

• wonderfool (eye dialect), woonderful (eye dialect), wonderfull (archaic), wondreful (obsolete), wondrefull (obsolete), 1drfl (internet slang)

Etymology

From Middle English wonderful, wondirful, from Old English wundorful (“wonderful”), from Proto-West Germanic *wundrafull, equivalent to wonder +? -ful. Cognate Dutch wondervol (“wonderful”), German wundervoll (“wonderful”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?w?n.d?.fl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?w?n.d?.fl?/
• Rhymes: blunderful

Adjective

wonderful (comparative wonderfuller or wonderfuler or more wonderful, superlative wonderfullest or wonderfulest or most wonderful)

1. Tending to excite wonder; surprising, extraordinary.
   • 1992, Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety, Harper Perennial 2007, p. 278:

     He is massively corrupt. It is wonderful how the man's popularity survives.

2. Surprisingly excellent; very good or admirable, extremely impressive.

   They served a wonderful six-course meal.

Synonyms

• (excellent, extremely impressive): great, amazing, astonishing, incredible, marvelous, fantastic, frabjous, mint
• See also Thesaurus:wonderful
• See also Thesaurus:excellent

Antonyms

• (excellent, extremely impressive): terrible, horrible

Translations

Adverb

wonderful (not comparable)

1. (dialect) Exceedingly, to a great extent.

Related terms

• women are wonderful effect
• wonder
• wonderfully
• wonderland
• wonderment
• wondrous

Anagrams

• underflow, wondreful