English Dictionary: substance' | by the DICT Development Group |
2 results for substance' | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
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, whether material or spiritual; that in which properties inhere; that which is real, in distinction from that which is apparent; the abiding part of any existence, in distinction from any accident; that which constitutes anything what it is; real or existing essence. These cooks, how they stamp, and strain, and grind, And turn substance into accident! --Chaucer. Heroic virtue did his actions guide, And he the substance, not the appearance, chose. --Dryden. 2. The most important element in any existence; the characteristic and essential components of anything; the main part; essential import; purport. This edition is the same in substance with the Latin. --Bp. Burnet. It is insolent in words, in manner; but in substance it is not only insulting, but alarming. --Burke. 3. Body; matter; material of which a thing is made; hence, substantiality; solidity; firmness; as, the substance of which a garment is made; some textile fabrics have little substance. 4. Material possessions; estate; property; resources. And there wasted his substance with riotous living. --Luke xv. 13. Thy substance, valued at the highest rate, Can not amount unto a hundred marks. --Shak. We are destroying many thousand lives, and exhausting our substance, but not for our own interest. --Swift. 5. (Theol.) Same as {Hypostasis}, 2. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Substance \Sub"stance\, v. t. To furnish or endow with substance; to supply property to; to make rich. [Obs.] |