quintessential
/ˌkwɪntɪˈsɛnʃəl/
Etymology
From quintessence + -al.
quintessential means of the nature of a quintessence (in all senses); being or relating to the ultimate essence of something. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 80 out of 100.
quintessential is pronounced /ˌkwɪntɪˈsɛnʃəl/.
Why “quintessential” is a great word
QUINTESSENTIAL — [Adjective] Representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class. From quintessence (from Medieval Latin quinta essentia, "fifth essence") + -al (forming adjectives). First attested c. 1600. Unlike "archetypal," which points to a primordial, generative model, or "typical," which neutrally describes the statistically common, "quintessential" denotes the purest, most concentrated embodiment of a type's defining spirit. It is the single, perfect note of a bell that cuts through city noise; the distilled scent of rain on dry earth that is the very smell of petrichor; or the exact line in a poem that contains its entire argument. It is the rare, extracted essence of a thing, long after the mundane body has evaporated.
adj
- Of the nature of a quintessence (in all senses); being or relating to the ultimate essence of something.“Often heralded as the quintessential RPG, and rarely rivaled by any other, this game is becoming increasingly difficult to find due to the fact that so many RPG fans are buying them at every chance they get.”
noun
- The fundamental essence of something.“A final aspect of the focus argument concerns the potential for integration to highlight the quintessentials of each subject.”