Substance \Sub"stance\, n. [F., fr. L. substantia, fr. substare
to be under or present, to stand firm; sub under + stare to
stand. See Stand.]
1. That which underlies all outward manifestations;
substratum; the permanent subject or cause of phenomena,
whether material or spiritual; that in which properties
inhere; that which is real, in distinction from that which
is apparent; the abiding part of any existence, in
distinction from any accident; that which constitutes
anything what it is; real or existing essence.
These cooks, how they stamp, and strain, and grind,
And turn substance into accident! --Chaucer.
Heroic virtue did his actions guide, And he the
substance, not the appearance, chose. --Dryden.
2. The most important element in any existence; the
characteristic and essential components of anything; the
main part; essential import; purport.
This edition is the same in substance with the
Latin. --Bp. Burnet.
It is insolent in words, in manner; but in substance
it is not only insulting, but alarming. --Burke.
3. Body; matter; material of which a thing is made; hence,
substantiality; solidity; firmness; as, the substance of
which a garment is made; some textile fabrics have little
substance.
4. Material possessions; estate; property; resources.
And there wasted his substance with riotous living.
--Luke xv. 13.
Thy substance, valued at the highest rate, Can not
amount unto a hundred marks. --Shak.
We are destroying many thousand lives, and
exhausting our substance, but not for our own
interest. --Swift.
5. (Theol.) Same as Hypostasis, 2.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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