esencial
/esenˈθjal/ · B1 · adj
essential
🔑 Cognate of essential: one s, ends in -al, stress on -CIAL
From Latin essentia, the being of a thing, from esse, to be. Spanish spells it with one s and swaps -tial for -cial. In Spain the c sounds like the th in thin (es-en-THYAL); in Latin America it sounds like s.