GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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Found 2 definitions 

  1.       

    Substance , 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.
      1913 Webster
      These cooks, how they stamp, and strain, and grind,
      And turn substance into accident!
      Chaucer.

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      Heroic virtue did his actions guide,
      And he the substance, not the appearance, chose.
      Dryden.

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    2. The most important element in any existence; the characteristic and essential components of anything; the main part; essential import; purport.
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      This edition is the same in substance with the Latin.
      Bp. Burnet.

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      It is insolent in words, in manner; but in substance it is not only insulting, but alarming.
      Burke.

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    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.
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    4. Material possessions; estate; property; resources.
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      And there wasted his substance with riotous living.
      Luke xv. 13.

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      Thy substance, valued at the highest rate,
      Can not amount unto a hundred marks.
      Shak.

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      We are destroying many thousand lives, and exhausting our substance, but not for our own interest.
      Swift.

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    5. (Theol.) Same as Hypostasis, 2.
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  2.       

    Substance, v. t. To furnish or endow with substance; to supply property to; to make rich. [Obs.]
    1913 Webster

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