substance
substance (sŭbʹstəns) noun
1. a. That which has mass and occupies space; matter. b. A material of a particular kind or constitution.
2. a. Essential nature; essence. b. Gist; heart.
3. That which is solid and practical in character, quality, or importance: a plan without substance.
4. Density; body: Air has little substance.
5. Material possessions; goods; wealth: a person of substance.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin substantia, from substāns, substant- present participle of substāre, to be present : sub-, sub- + stāre, to stand.]
Synonyms: substance, burden2, core, gist, pith, purport. The central meaning shared by these nouns is "the essential import or significance of something spoken or written": the substance of her complaint; the burden of the President's speech; the core of an article; the gist of the prosecutor's argument; the pith and marrow of an essay; the purport of a document.