n. - That which forms the basis of anything; underlying principle; a concept or mental entity conceived or treated as an existing being or thing.
n. - 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.
n. - 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.
n. - That which is deposited at the bottom of a fluid; sediment.