element

See also: Element and élément

English

Examples

Etymology

    From Middle English element, from Old French element, from Latin elementum (“a first principle, element, rudiment”) (see further etymology there).

    The verb is from Middle English elementen, from the noun.[1]

    Pronunciation

    • enPR: ĕl'ĭmənt
    • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɛlɪmənt/
    • (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈɛləmənt/
      • Audio (US):(file)
    • (Australia, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈeləmənt/
    • Hyphenation: el‧e‧ment

    Noun

    element (plural elements)

    1. One of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based.
      Letters are the elements of written language.
      2. (chemistry) Any one of the types of atom distinguished by having a certain number of protons in its nucleus.[2]
        Synonym: chemical element
        Hypernyms: substance, material
        Hyponyms: alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, chalcogen, pnictogen, halogen, metal, noble gas, rare earth element, rare earth metal
        • 2013, “Elements for Kids — Hydrogen”, in www.duckster.com‎[3], archived from the original on 15 July 2013:
          Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table. It is the simplest possible atom composed of one proton in the nucleus which is orbited by a single electron.
      3. (chemistry) A chemical substance made entirely of one such type of atom; any one of the simplest chemical substances that cannot be decomposed in a chemical reaction or by any chemical means and made up of atoms all having the same number of protons.
        Synonyms: elementary substance, chemical element
        Hypernyms: substance, material
        Hyponyms: alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, chalcogen, pnictogen, halogen, metal, noble gas, rare earth element, rare earth metal
      5. One of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air.
        • 1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 59:
          The she asked the elements to send their spirits to her.
      6. (usually in the plural) A basic, simple substance out of which something is made, raw material.
        • c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
          Thus ſhall my heart be ſtil combinde with thine,
          Untill our bodies turne to Elements:
          And both our ſoules aſpire celeſtiall thrones.
      7. (law) A required aspect or component of a cause of action. A deed is regarded as a violation of law only if each element can be proved.
      8. (set theory) One of the objects in a set.
        Synonym: member
        • 1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xi:
          […] the majority of names being compounded of two elements chosen from a stock of special name-words.
      9. (mathematics) One of the entries of a matrix.
      10. Any of the teeth of a zip fastener.
    2. A small part of the whole.
      an element of the picture
    3. A small but present amount of a quality, a hint.
      an element of doubt
      • 1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 4, in Pulling the Strings:
        The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff.
    4. A factor, one of the conditions contributing to a result.
    5. (obsolete) The sky.
      • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LXIX”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC:
        Sometimes, solitude is of all things my wish; and the awful silence of the night, the spangled element, and the rising and setting sun, how promotive of contemplation!
    6. (obsolete) Any one of the heavenly spheres believed to carry the celestial bodies in premodern cosmology.
    8. (in the plural only, with "the") Atmospheric forces such as strong winds and rains.
      exposed to the elements
    10. A place or state of being that a person or object is best suited to.
      to be in one’s element
    11. (Christianity, usually in the plural) The bread and wine taken at Holy Communion.
    13. A group of people within a larger group having a particular common characteristic.
      You sometimes find the hooligan element at football matches.
    14. (in the plural only) The basic principles of a field of knowledge, basics, fundamentals, rudiments.
      • 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 198:
        Miniature Nuremberg kitchens complete with all the utensils were said to teach children the elements of housewifery.
    15. A component in electrical equipment, often in the form of a coil, having a high resistance, thereby generating heat when a current is passed through it.
      The element in this electric kettle can heat the water in under a minute.
      • 1960 February, “High-Voltage Electric Locomotive for British Railways”, in Railway Magazine, page 125:
        These screens incorporate a layer of transparent gold film in the laminations which forms an electric heating element to act as de-icer and de-mister.
    16. (mathematics) An infinitesimal interval of a quantity, a differential.
      The element of area in Cartesian coordinates is dx dy.
    17. (astronomy) An orbital element; one of the parameters needed to uniquely specify a particular orbit.
    19. (computing) One of the conceptual objects in a markup language, usually represented in text by tags.
      • 2011, Richard Wagner, Creating Web Pages All-in-One For Dummies:
        The div element was introduced into HTML as a solution to the layout problem.

    Hyponyms

    Derived terms

    Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    See also

    Verb

    element (third-person singular simple present elements, present participle elementing, simple past and past participle elemented) (transitive, obsolete)

    2. To compound (something) out of elements.
    3. To constitute and be the elements of (something).
      • 1658, Izaak Walton, Life of Donne:
        His very soul was elemented of nothing but sadness.

    References

    • Lehmann, R.G. (2011). "27-30-22-26 - How many letters needs an alphabet?". In de Voogt, A.; Quack, J.F. The Idea of Writing: Writing Across Borders. Brill. pp. 15–16, note 8.
    1. ^ “element, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
    2. ^ International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (2014). "chemical element". Compendium of Chemical Terminology Internet edition.

    Further reading

    Anagrams

    Catalan

    Etymology

    Borrowed from Latin elementum.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    element m (plural elements)

    1. element, a component part of a thing
    2. (plural) fundamental principles or simpler notions of a knowledge system
    3. (plural) set of natural forces (the weather, the sea, etc)
    4. (chemistry) element, a simple substance that cannot be broken down into others by chemical methods
    5. (biology) the environment in which a being lives
      (idiomatic) trobar-se algú en el seu element ― to be somebody in the situation that best suits their tastes or abilities (an idiom, literally to be in one's element)
    6. (math) element, an object that belongs to a set
    7. (pejorative) a person, an individual

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    Crimean Tatar

    Etymology

    From Latin elementum.

    Noun

    element

    1. element.

    Declension

    Declension of element
    nominative element
    genitive elementniñ
    dative elementke
    accusative elementni
    locative elementte
    ablative elementten

    References

    • Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002), Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎[5], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

    Czech

    Etymology

    Etymology tree
    Latin elementumlbor.
    Old Czech element
    Czech element

      Inherited from Old Czech element, a learned borrowing from Latin elementum.[1]

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): [ˈɛlɛmɛnt]
      • Audio:(file)

      Noun

      element m inan

      1. element (one of the simplest or essential parts or principles of which anything consists, or upon which the constitution or fundamental powers of anything are based)
        1. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)
      2. elementary (basic knowledge or fact)
      3. (literary) element (small part of the whole)
      4. (physics) galvanic cell

      Declension

      Declension of element (hard masculine inanimate)
      singular plural
      nominative element elementy
      genitive elementu elementů
      dative elementu elementům
      accusative element elementy
      vocative elemente elementy
      locative elementu elementech
      instrumental elementem elementy

      Further reading

      Danish

      Noun

      element n (singular definite elementet, plural indefinite elementer)

      1. (set theory) element

      Declension

      Declension of element
      neuter
      gender       		singular plural
      indefinite definite indefinite definite
      nominative element elementet elementer elementerne
      genitive elements elementets elementers elementernes

      References

      Dutch

      Etymology

      From Middle Dutch element, from Old French element, from Latin elementum (“a first principle, element, rudiment”), of uncertain origin (see further etymology there).

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˌeː.ləˈmɛnt/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Hyphenation: ele‧ment
      • Rhymes: -ɛnt

      Noun

      element n (plural elementen, diminutive elementje n)

      1. element
      2. (chemistry) element
      3. (set theory) element

      Descendants

      • → Indonesian: elemen

      Anagrams

      Kashubian

      Etymology

      Etymology tree
      Latin elementumlbor.
      Old Polish element
      Polish elementbor.
      Kashubian element

        Borrowed from Polish element.

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /ɛˈlɛ.mɛnt/
        • Rhymes: -ɛmɛnt
        • Syllabification: e‧le‧ment

        Noun

        element m inan

        1. element (small part of the whole)

        Further reading

        • Jan Trepczyk (1994), “element”, in Słownik polsko-kaszubski (in Kashubian), volumes 1–2
        • Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “element”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎[6]

        Norwegian Bokmål

        Etymology

        From Latin elementum.

        Noun

        element n (definite singular elementet, indefinite plural element or elementer, definite plural elementa or elementene)

        1. an element

        References

        Norwegian Nynorsk

        Etymology

        From Latin elementum.

        Noun

        element n (definite singular elementet, indefinite plural element, definite plural elementa)

        1. an element

        References

        Old Czech

        Alternative forms

        Etymology

          Learned borrowing from Latin elementum.[2]

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): (13th CE) /ˈɛlɛmɛnt/
          • IPA(key): (15th CE) /ˈɛlɛmɛnt/

          Noun

          element m inan

          1. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)

          Declension

          Declension of element (hard o-stem)
          singular dual plural
          nominative element elementy elementi, elementové
          genitive elementa, elementu elementú elementóv
          dative elementu elementoma elementóm
          accusative element elementy elementy
          vocative elemente elementy elementi, elementové
          locative elementě, elementu elementú elementiech
          instrumental elementem elementoma elementy
          This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.

          Descendants

          References

          1. ^ Rejzek, Jiří (2015), “element”, in Český etymologický slovník [Czech Etymological Dictionary] (in Czech), 3rd (revised and expanded) edition, Praha: LEDA, →ISBN
          2. ^ Rejzek, Jiří (2015), “element”, in Český etymologický slovník [Czech Etymological Dictionary] (in Czech), 3rd (revised and expanded) edition, Praha: LEDA, →ISBN

          Old Polish

          Alternative forms

          Etymology

            Learned borrowing from Latin elementum.[1][2][3][4][5] First attested in the middle of the 15th century.

            Pronunciation

            • IPA(key): (10th–15th CE) /ɛlʲɛ(ː)mɛ(ː)nt/
            • IPA(key): (15th CE) /ɛlʲɛmɛnt/, /ɛlʲement/

            Noun

            element m animacy unattested

            1. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)
              • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa‎[7], page 5:
                Czthyrzy zyvyoly... albo alymenta szą od czyebye stvorzony (elementa quatuor a te sunt creata), ymysz ma bycz zyvo wschystko stvorzenye. To sa ta czvsch ozm ozm alymenta: ogyen, zyemya, vylkoscz y povyetrze
                [Cztyrzy żywioły... albo alimenta są od Ciebie stworzony (elementa quatuor a Te sunt creata), imiż ma być żywo wszystko stworzenie, to są, toczusz alimenta: ogień, ziemia, wilkość i powietrze]

            Descendants

            References

            1. ^ Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000), “element”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
            2. ^ Mirosław Bańko; Lidia Wiśniakowska (2021), “element”, in Wielki słownik wyrazów obcych, →ISBN
            3. ^ Dubisz, Stanisław, editor (2003), “element”, in Uniwersalny słownik języka polskiego [Universal Dictionary of the Polish Language]‎[1] (in Polish), volumes 1–4, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, →ISBN, →OCLC
            4. ^ Witold Doroszewski, editor (1958–1969), “element”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), Warszawa: PWN
            5. ^ Krystyna Długosz-Kurczabowa (2021), “element”, in Wielki słownik etymologiczno-historyczny języka polskiego, →ISBN

            Old Slovak

            Alternative forms

            Etymology

              Learned borrowing from Latin elementum.[1]

              Noun

              element m inan

              1. element (basic substance)
              2. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)

              Descendants

              References

              1. ^ Králik, Ľubor (2016), “element”, in Stručný etymologický slovník slovenčiny [Concise Etymological Dictionary of Slovak] (in Slovak), Bratislava: VEDA; JÚĽŠ SAV, →ISBN, page 145
              • Majtán, Milan et al., editors (1991–2008), “element”, in Historický slovník slovenského jazyka [Historical Dictionary of the Slovak Language] (in Slovak), volumes 1–7 (A – Ž), Bratislava: VEDA, →OCLC

              Polish

              Etymology

              Etymology tree
              Latin elementumlbor.
              Old Polish element
              Polish element

                Inherited from Old Polish element.

                Pronunciation

                 
                • IPA(key): /ɛˈlɛ.mɛnt/
                • Audio:(file)
                • Rhymes: -ɛmɛnt
                • Syllabification: e‧le‧ment

                Noun

                element m inan (diminutive elemencik)

                1. element (small part of the whole)
                2. member; dregs (person or group with negative traits)
                  Wieczorami w knajpie zbierał się podejrzany element. ― In the evenings, a suspicious group congregated in the pub.
                3. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)
                  Synonym: żywioł
                4. (mathematics) element (infinitesimal interval of a quantity, a differential)
                5. (in the plural) elements (basic principles of a field of knowledge, basics, fundamentals, rudiments)
                  Synonym: podstawy
                6. (obsolete, chemistry) element (any one of the simplest chemical substances that cannot be decomposed in a chemical reaction or by any chemical means and made up of atoms all having the same number of protons)
                  Synonym: pierwiastek
                7. (Middle Polish) substance
                  Synonym: substancja

                Declension

                Declension of element
                singular plural
                nominative element elementy
                genitive elementu elementów
                dative elementowi elementom
                accusative element elementy
                instrumental elementem elementami
                locative elemencie elementach
                vocative elemencie elementy

                Trivia

                According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), element is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 49 times in scientific texts, 12 times in news, 44 times in essays, 6 times in fiction, and 0 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 111 times, making it the 549th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.[1]

                References

                1. ^ Ida Kurcz (1990), “element”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej [Frequency dictionary of the Polish language]‎[2] (in Polish), volume 1, Kraków; Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 111

                Further reading

                Romanian

                Etymology

                Etymology tree
                Latin elementum
                French élémentbor.
                Romanian element

                  Borrowed from French élément, from Latin elementum.

                  Noun

                  element n (plural elemente)

                  1. element

                  Declension

                  singular plural
                  indefinite definite indefinite definite
                  nominative-accusative element elementul elemente elementele
                  genitive-dative element elementului elemente elementelor
                  vocative elementule elementelor

                  Serbo-Croatian

                  Alternative forms

                  Pronunciation

                  • IPA(key): /elěment/
                  • Hyphenation: e‧le‧ment

                  Noun

                  elèment m inan (Cyrillic spelling елѐмент)

                  1. element

                  Declension

                  Declension of element
                  singular plural
                  nominative elèment elementi
                  genitive elementa elèmenātā
                  dative elementu elementima
                  accusative element elemente
                  vocative elemente elementi
                  locative elementu elementima
                  instrumental elementom elementima

                  Slovak

                  Etymology

                  Etymology tree
                  Latin elementumlbor.
                  Old Slovak element
                  Slovak element

                    Inherited from Old Slovak element, a learned borrowing from Latin elementum.[1]

                    Pronunciation

                    • IPA(key): /element/, [ˈelement]
                    • Rhymes: -ement
                    • Hyphenation: e‧le‧ment

                    Noun

                    element m inan

                    1. element (small part of the whole)
                    2. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)
                    3. (chemistry) element (any one of the simplest chemical substances that cannot be decomposed in a chemical reaction or by any chemical means and made up of atoms all having the same number of protons)
                    4. element (factor, one of the conditions contributing to a result)
                    5. (engineering) A simple machine component occurring separately or as a whole on various devices.

                    Declension

                    Declension of element
                    (pattern dub)
                    singularplural
                    nominativeelementelementy
                    genitiveelementuelementov
                    dativeelementuelementom
                    accusativeelementelementy
                    locativeelementeelementoch
                    instrumentalelementomelementmi

                    Noun

                    element m animal or m pers

                    1. member; dregs (person or group with negative traits)

                    Declension

                    Declension of element
                    (patterns chlap (singular, plural 2) and dub (plural 1))
                    singularplural 1plural 2
                    nominativeelementelementyelementi
                    genitiveelementaelementovelementov
                    dativeelementovi,
                    elementu                    		elementomelementom
                    accusativeelementaelementyelementov
                    locativeelementovi,
                    elementu                    		elementochelementoch
                    instrumentalelementomelementmielementmi

                    Further reading

                    • “element”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

                    Swedish

                    Pronunciation

                    • Audio:(file)

                    Noun

                    element n

                    1. element; basic building block of matter in ancient philosophy
                    2. element; a place or state of being that an individual or object is better suited towards
                    3. elements; forces of weather
                    4. element; an object in a set
                    5. (mathematics) element of a matrix
                    6. heating element, radiator
                    7. (computing) element; object in markup language

                    Declension

                    Declension of element
                    nominative genitive
                    singular indefinite element elements
                    definite elementet elementets
                    plural indefinite element elements
                    definite elementen elementens

                    Tagalog

                    Etymology

                    Etymology tree
                    Latin elementumbor.
                    Old French elementder.
                    Middle English elementder.
                    English elementbor.
                    Tagalog element

                      Borrowed from English element, from Middle English element, from Old French element, borrowed from Latin elementum. Doublet of elemento.

                      Pronunciation

                      • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈʔelement/ [ˌʔɛː.lɛˈmɛn̪t]
                      • Rhymes: -element
                      • Syllabification: e‧le‧ment

                      Noun

                      élemént (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜎᜒᜋᜒᜈ᜔ᜆ᜔)

                      1. element
                        Synonyms: elemento, sangkap, bahagi

                      Further reading

                      Turkish

                      Etymology

                      Etymology tree
                      Latin elementum
                      German Elementbor.
                      Turkish element

                        Borrowed from German Element, from Latin elementum. Doublet of eleman.

                        Pronunciation

                        • IPA(key): /eleˈmænt/
                        • Hyphenation: e‧le‧ment

                        Noun

                        element (definite accusative elementi, plural elementler)

                        1. (chemistry) element

                        Declension

                        Declension of element
                        singular plural
                        nominative element elementler
                        definite accusative elementi elementleri
                        dative elemente elementlere
                        locative elementte elementlerde
                        ablative elementten elementlerden
                        genitive elementin elementlerin
                        1. ^ Králik, Ľubor (2016), “element”, in Stručný etymologický slovník slovenčiny [Concise Etymological Dictionary of Slovak] (in Slovak), Bratislava: VEDA; JÚĽŠ SAV, →ISBN, page 145
                        This page is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.