Meanings
plural substants
- Something that subsists.
1597, The substants of bodie and soule have nothinge commune with this spirituall mariage. (quoted in OED)
comparative more substant · superlative most substant
- rareSubstantial; firm.
[The glacier's] substant ice curls freely, molds, and breaks itself like water, — breaks in waves, plastic like honey, crested lightly with a frozen spray; it winds tenderly about the rocky shore, and the granite, disintegrated into crumbs, flows on with it.
1884, The Century: Illustrated Monthly Magazine, volume 27, New York City: The Century Company, page 146
Origin
- Latinsubstō
- Latinsubstō
- Englishsubstant
Learned borrowing from Latin substantis. First attested in 1597.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
substant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/substant
“substant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/substant. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “substant,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/substant.
Source: substant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.