essencial

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin essentiālis, from esse (“to be”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ə.sən.siˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [e.sen.siˈal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

essencial m or f (masculine and feminine plural essencials)

1. essential (of great importance)

Derived terms

• essencialisme
• essencialista
• essencialment

Related terms

• essència

Further reading

• “essencial”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “essencial”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “essencial” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “essencial”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin essentiālis, from Latin essentia (“being, essence”). By surface analysis, essência +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /e.sẽ.siˈaw/ [e.sẽ.sɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /e.sẽˈsjaw/ [e.sẽˈsjaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.sẽˈsjal/ [i.sẽˈsjaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.sẽˈsjal/ [i.sẽˈsjaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /i.sẽˈsja.li/

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: es‧sen‧ci‧al

Adjective

essencial m or f (plural essenciais)

1. essential
2. important
3. main, principal
4. fundamental

Derived terms

• essencialidade
• essencialismo
• essencialista
• essencialmente

Related terms

• essência

Further reading

• “essencial”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “essencial”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026