quintessence

The pure, highly concentrated essence of a thing.

The purest or most typical instance.

In ancient and medieval philosophy, the fifth and highest essence after the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water, thought to be the substance of the heavenly bodies and latent in all things.

A form of dark energy due to a hypothetical scalar field that permeates all space, the energy density of which varies across space and time, in contrast to the cosmological constant.

To extract as a quintessence; reduce to a quintessence.

The fifth essence, or fifth body, not composed of earth, water, fire, or air; the substance of the heavenly bodies, according to Aristotle, who seems in this matter to follow Pythagorean doctrine.

Hence An extract from anything, containing its virtues or most essential part in a small quantity; pure and concentrated essence; the best and purest part of a thing; in old chemistry, an alcoholic tincture or essence often made by digestion at common temperatures or in the sun’s heat, and always at a gentle heat.

To distil or extract as a quintessence; to reduce to a quintessence.

The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a natural body. See Ferment oils, under ferment.

Hence: An extract from anything, containing its rarest virtue, or most subtle and essential constituent in a small quantity; pure or concentrated essence.