(a) A type or kind of thing; a thing; also, a material thing; up ~, above material things, spiritual, transcendent; (b) an entity possessing physical properties; -- used of the incarnate Christ.

Chiefly phil. or theol. (a) That which exists, a being, an entity; also, being, existence, life; (b) the divine essence, identified with absolute goodness and self-subsistent being; -- usu. in formulas affirming the essential unity of the Trinity; (c) something that has a potential to become a particular kind of thing, the stuff of which a corporeal or incorporeal creature is made; also, prime matter [2nd quot. & last quot., 3rd occurrence]; (d) the essential nature of something; the permanent, unchanging substratum in which accidents inhere; also, an essential component of a human being; (e) used allusively to distinguish the essential from the trivial.

(a) The material of which something consists; also fig.; (b) the physical nature of something, the sum of a thing's material characteristics; also, a material characteristic, esp. viscosity or height; (c) a solid mass; the solid mass remaining after the extraction of the moisture in something; also, the aggregate of the solid substances in a soup or stew; (d) something having a specific set of physical characteristics; also, the set of physical characteristics specific to a certain type of thing.

(a) The matter of which the body, a bodily part, etc. is made or consists; also, the body of a human being or an animal; gostli ~, the soul; (b) anat. the matter of which an organ or other part of the body is composed, tissue; (c) the physical condition of the body or a bodily part; (d) a person's physical nature.

Sustenance, nourishment; also, a state of subsistence [2nd quot.].

(a) Material wealth, property, goods; riches, treasure; also, a quantity of property or wealth; a quantity of spiritual riches [quot. c1450]; a body of persons possessing the wealth of a community [last quot.]; (b) ?ethical character, integrity.

(a) The content of a literary work; (b) the main point, focus, etc. of something; the gist of a matter; also, the main intention behind something written or spoken; (c) consequence, significance, importance; (d) that which gives support for an action or idea, a basis, foundation; also, the cause of something; (e) as) in ~, for all intents and purposes, in the main, generally; -- sometimes in rime with weakened semantic content; stonden in no ~, to have no significance.

(a) A majority of people; also, a large number; also, a representative group; (b) the bulk of a commodity; also, a great amount, a quantity; also, a major portion of a livelihood.