existence
/ɛɡˈzɪs.təns/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.55 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Empirical reality; the substance of the physical universe. (Dictionary of Philosophy; 1968)
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "In order to destroy evil, we must first acknowledge its existence."
- "Fortunate it is for the tranquillity of the new-born infant, if he have any turn for philosophy, that he understands none of the nonsense consecrated by old usage to the commencement of existence."
- "However, with the dainty volume my quondam friend sprang into fame. At the same time he cast off the chrysalis of a commonplace existence."
- "The physics of elementary particles in the 20th century was distinguished by the observation of particles whose existence had been predicted by theorists sometimes decades earlier."
- "The ancients said, “A ruler should exist for the existence of the people.” The famous thinker, Mencius noted, “The people are the most valuable, then the country, and the ruler comes last.”"
Etymology
From Middle English existence, from Old French existence, from Late Latin existentia (“existence”), from existēns, from existō, exsistō (“I am, I exist”), from ex (“out”) + sistere (“to set, place”) (related to stare (“to stand, to be stood”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stísteh₂ti, from the root *steh₂- (“stand”). Cognate with Spanish existencia, French existence, German Existenz. Displaced native Old English understandennes (literally, "understanden-ness"). Morphologically exist + -ence.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɛɡˈzɪs.təns/