- That which forms the basis of anything; underlying
principle; a concept or mental entity conceived or treated as an
existing being or thing. - Substance; subsistence; essence; person; personality;
-- used by the early theologians to denote any one of the three
subdivisions of the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. - Principle; an element; -- used by the alchemists in
speaking of salt, sulphur, and mercury, which they considered as the
three principles of all material bodies. - That which is deposited at the bottom of a fluid;
sediment.