The state of being real or being alive. It can also mean the way someone lives, especially when life is difficult or limited.
From Late Latin *existentia*, from Latin *existere* meaning ‘to stand out, appear, be’. The parts *ex-* (‘out’) and *sistere* (‘to stand’) suggest something that ‘stands out’ into reality.
The word itself hints that to exist is to ‘stand out’ from nothingness, which is why philosophers obsess over it. When we say something ‘comes into existence,’ we’re literally saying it steps out where we can notice it.
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