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substance

[suhb-stuhns]

Origin

noun

that of which a thing consists; physical matter or material: form and substance.

a species of matter of definite chemical composition: a chalky substance.

controlled substance.

the subject matter of thought, discourse, study, etc.

the actual matter of a thing, as opposed to the appearance or shadow; reality.

EXPAND

substantial or solid character or quality: claims lacking in substance.

consistency; body: soup without much substance.

the meaning or gist, as of speech or writing.

something that has separate or independent existence.

10.

Philosophy.

something that exists by itself and in which accidents or attributes inhere; that which receives modifications and is not itself a mode; something that is causally active; something that is more than an event.

the essential part of a thing; essence.

a thing considered as a continuing whole.

11.

possessions, means, or wealth: to squander one's substance.

12.

Linguistics. the articulatory or acoustic reality or the perceptual manifestation of a word or other construction (distinguished from form).

13.

a standard of weights for paper.

COLLAPSE

Idiom

14.

in substance,

concerning the essentials; substantially.

actually; really: That is in substance how it appeared to me.

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Substance is always a great word to know.

So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Latin substantia substance, essence (literally, that which stands under, i.e., underlies), equivalent to sub- sub- + -stant- (stem of stāns, present participle of stāre to stand) + -ia -ia (see -ance)

Related forms

sub·stance·less, adjective

Synonyms
1. See matter. 4. theme, subject. 4, 5, 8. essence. 8. significance, import, pith.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To substance

Collins

World English Dictionary

substance (ˈsʌbstəns)

—n
1.	the tangible matter of which a thing consists
2.	a specific type of matter, esp a homogeneous material with a definite composition
3.	the essence, meaning, etc, of a written or spoken thought
4.	solid or meaningful quality
5.	material density: a vacuum has no substance
6.	material possessions or wealth: a man of substance
7.	philosophy
	a. the supposed immaterial substratum that can receive modifications and in which attributes and accidents inhere
	b. a thing considered as a continuing whole that survives the changeability of its properties
8.	Christian Science that which is eternal
9.	a euphemistic term for any illegal drug
10.	in substance with regard to the salient points

[C13: via Old French from Latin substantia, from substāre, from sub- + stāre to stand]

'substanceless

—*adj*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

substance

c.1300, "essential nature," from O.Fr. substance (12c.), from L. substantia "being, essence, material," from substans, prp. of substare "stand firm, be under or present," from sub "up to, under" + stare "to stand," from PIE base *sta- "to stand" (see stet). A loan-translation

EXPAND

of Gk. hypostasis. Sense of "the matter of a study, discourse, etc." first recorded late 14c. Meaning "any kind of corporeal matter" also is first attested late 14c.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

substance sub·stance (sŭb'stəns)
n.