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kleinbl00 · 1307 days ago · link · · parent · post: Scientists find new evidence linking essential oils to seizures (n=350)
c'mon, man. I know it bugs you sciencey-types to acknowledge just how much of our common language relates to alchemy but FFS "essential" referred to expressed and extracted plant oils THREE HUNDRED YEARS before the modern science of marketing was founded.Meaning "ingredient which gives something its particular character" is from c. 1600, especially of distilled oils from plants (1650s), hence "fragrance, perfume" (17c.). In 19c. U.S., essence-peddler could mean "medical salesman" and "skunk."