element

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See also: Element and élément

English

 element on Wikipedia
 chemical element on Wikipedia
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.

Pronunciation

(General American) IPA(key): /ˈɛləmənt/

  • Audio (US):(file)
  • 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.
    1. (chemistry) Any one of the types of atom distinguished by having a certain number of protons in its nucleus.
      Synonym: chemical element
      • 2013, “Elements for Kids — Hydrogen”, in www.duckster.com, 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.
    2. (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
    3. One of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air.
    4. (usually in the plural) A basic, simple substance out of which something is made, raw material.
      • c. 1587–1588, , Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part , 2nd edition, part 1, London: 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.
    5. (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.
    6. (set theory) One of the objects in a set.
      Synonym: member
      • 1945, E G 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.
    7. (mathematics) One of the entries of a matrix.
    8. 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, , “Letter LXIX”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: , volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: S Richardson;  y Andrew Millar, over-against Catharine-street in the Strand; y J and J Rivington, in St. Paul’s Church-yard; nd by J. Leake, at Bath.">…], →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.
  7. (in the plural only, with "the") Atmospheric forces such as strong winds and rains.
    exposed to the elements
  8. A place or state of being that a person or object is best suited to.
    to be in one’s element
  9. (Christianity, usually in the plural) The bread and wine taken at Holy Communion.
  10. A group of people within a larger group having a particular common characteristic.
    You sometimes find the hooligan element at football matches.
  11. (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.
  12. 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.
  13. (mathematics) An infinitesimal interval of a quantity, a differential.
    The element of area in Cartesian coordinates is dx dy.
  14. (astronomy) An orbital element; one of the parameters needed to uniquely specify a particular orbit.
  15. (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.

See also

Verb

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

  1. To compound (something) out of elements.
  2. 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.

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 elementto 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, Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Czech

Czech Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cs

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech element, from Latin elementum.

Pronunciation

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

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

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

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

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

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

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

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

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.

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

Descendants

References

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

Old Polish

Alternative forms

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin elementum. 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, 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

Descendants

References

  1. ^ Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “element”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego (in Polish)
  2. ^ Mirosław Bańko, Lidia Wiśniakowska (2021) “element”, in Wielki słownik wyrazów obcych, →ISBN
  3. ^ Stanisław Dubisz, editor (2003), “element”, in Uniwersalny słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volumes 1-4, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN SA, →ISBN
  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.

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 (in Slovak), Bratislava: VEDA; JÚĽŠ SAV, →ISBN, page 145
  • Majtán, Milan et al., editors (1991–2008), “element”, in Historický slovník slovenského jazyka (in Slovak), volumes 1–7 (A – Ž), Bratislava: VEDA, →OCLC

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish element.

Pronunciation

 
  • 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

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.

References

  1. ^ Ida Kurcz (1990) “element”, in Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (in Polish), volume 1, Kraków, Warszawa: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Języka Polskiego, page 111

Further reading

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French élément, from Latin elementum.

Noun

element n (plural elemente)

  1. element

Declension

Declension of element
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 (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

Slovak Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sk

Etymology

Inherited from Old Slovak element, from Latin elementum.

Pronunciation

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

Swedish

Pronunciation

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

Turkish

Etymology

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