substance

substance
noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin substantia, from substant-, substans, present participle of substare to stand under, from sub- + stare to stand — more at stand Date: 14th century 1. a. essential nature ; essence b. a fundamental or characteristic part or quality c. Christian Science god 1b 2. a. ultimate reality that underlies all outward manifestations and change b. practical importance ; meaning, usefulness <
the…bill—which will be without substance in the sense that it will authorize nothing more than a set of ideas — Richard Reeves
>
3. a. physical material from which something is made or which has discrete existence b. matter of particular or definite chemical constitution c. something (as drugs or alcoholic beverages) deemed harmful and usually subject to legal restriction <
possession of a controlled substance
>
<
substance abuse
>
4. material possessions ; property <
a family of substance
>
substanceless adjective

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • SUBSTANCE — Une idée reçue particulièrement tenace occupe le devant de la scène philosophique depuis l’époque du positivisme d’Auguste Comte, c’est à dire depuis plus d’un siècle: l’idée selon laquelle la métaphysique serait morte avec Kant, à la fin du… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Substance — • A genus supremum, cannot strictly be defined by an analysis into genus and specific difference; yet a survey of the universe at large will enable us to form without difficulty an accurate idea of substance Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight.… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • substance — Substance. s. f. Terme de Philosophie, Estre qui subsiste par luy mesme, à la difference de l accident qui ne subsiste qu estant adherant à un sujet. Substance spirituelle. substance corporelle. dans le mystere de l Eucharistie la substance du… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Substance P — Structure et représentation tridimensionnelle de la Substance P …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Substance — Sub stance, n. [F., fr. L. substantia, fr. substare to be under or present, to stand firm; sub under + stare to stand. See {Stand}.] 1. That which underlies all outward manifestations; substratum; the permanent subject or cause of phenomena,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • substance — 1 Substance, purport, gist, burden, core, pith can denote the inner significance or central meaning of something written or said. Substance implies the essence of what has been said or written devoid of details and elaborations; the term is used… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • substance — sub·stance n 1: substantive law was a question of substance and not process compare procedure 2: something (as language) essential esp. to establishing a valid right, claim, or charge a t …   Law dictionary

  • substance — ► NOUN 1) a particular kind of matter with uniform properties. 2) the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists. 3) solid basis in reality or fact: the claim has no substance. 4) the quality of being important, valid, or… …   English terms dictionary

  • substance — [n1] entity, element actuality, animal, being, body, bulk, concreteness, core, corpus, fabric, force, hunk, individual, item, mass, material, matter, object, person, phenomenon, reality, something, staple, stuff, texture, thing; concepts… …   New thesaurus

  • substance — [sub′stəns] n. [OFr < L substantia < substare, to be present < sub , under + stare, to STAND] 1. the real or essential part or element of anything; essence, reality, or basic matter 2. a) the physical matter of which a thing consists;… …   English World dictionary

  • Substance — Sub stance, v. t. To furnish or endow with substance; to supply property to; to make rich. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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