Full Idea
An Aristotelian essence is a nonlinguistic correlate of the definition of the entity in question.
Gist of Idea
An Aristotelian essence is a nonlinguistic correlate of the definition
Source
Charlotte Witt (Substance and Essence in Aristotle [1989], Intro)
Book Reference
Witt,Charlotte: 'Substance and Essence in Aristotle' [Cornell 1994], p.2
A Reaction
This is a simple and necessity corrective to the simplistic idea that Aristotle thought that essences just were definitions. Aristotle believes in real essences, not linguistic essences.