Essentialities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A collection of fundamental qualities or elements that are necessary for a particular purpose or function
2. The basic and indispensable characteristics or aspects of something that are required for its existence or operation
3. Key components or vital ingredients that are crucial for achieving an aim or fulfilling a requirement

Etymology: Essentialities is simply the plural of "essentiality," so the story is really about the base word and its ending. "Essential" came into English from Late Latin "essentialis," built on "essentia," the Latin rendering of the Greek idea of "being," itself formed from the Latin verb "esse," to be. The root sense is therefore close to "that which something truly is," and that sense survives in the modern meaning of "essential" as the core of a thing without which it would not be what it is. "Essentiality" is an English formation: "essential" with the suffix "-ity," which turns an adjective into a noun of quality, so it names the state of being essential. The plural "essentialities" follows the usual pattern for countable nouns, and it is used for the individual fundamental qualities or elements rather than for the abstract quality as a whole.

Synonyms: essentials, necessities, fundamentals, core, basics