element

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See also: Element and élément

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English element, from Old French element, from Latin elementum (“a first principle, element, rudiment”); origin uncertain. Perhaps ultimately from L M N, first three letters of the second half of the Canaanite alphabet, recited by ancient scribes when learning it (in sense compare English ABC(s) (“fundamentals”)). This idea has been criticized though due to the absence of any evidence for use of a half-split in the Latin alphabet itself and the lack of evidence for the use of "el", "em", and "en" as letter names in early Latin. An alternative related idea is that elementum was borrowed into Latin from a Semitic term (probably via Egyptian) halaḥama, which derives from the old South Semitic initial character sequence, h-l-ḥ-m..., though this theory presents some difficulties as well.

The equivalent Greek term στοιχεῖον (stoikheîon, “element, letter”) (introduced in the sense of "element" by Plato), like the Latin elementum, has the dual meaning of "element" and "letter," which does suggest that the semantic connection between these ideas could be quite old.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈel.ɪ.mənt/
  • Audio (US)
    		(file)
  • Hyphenation: el‧e‧ment

Noun[edit]

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 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.
    2. One of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air.
    3. (law) A required aspect or component of a cause of action. A deed is regarded a violation of law only if each element can be proved.
    4. (set theory) One of the objects in a set.
  2. A small part of the whole.
    an element of doubt;  an element of the picture
    • 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.
  3. (plural only, with "the") Atmospheric forces such as strong winds and rains.
    exposed to the elements
  4. A place or state of being that an individual or object is best suited to.
    to be in one's element
  5. (Christianity, usually in the plural) The bread and wine taken at Holy Communion.
  6. A group of people within a larger group having a particular common characteristic.
    You sometimes find the hooligan element at football matches.
  7. 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.
  9. (computing) One of the conceptual objects in a markup language, usually represented in text by a matching pair of 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.

Synonyms[edit]

Hyponyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also[edit]

Verb[edit]

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

  1. (obsolete) To compound of elements.
    • 1661, Robert Boyle, The Sceptical Chymist:
      elemented bodies
    • 1681, Maunyngham, Disc., page 89:
      thou art elemented and organed
  2. (obsolete) To constitute and be the elements of.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Donne, Poems, page 41:
      those things which elemented [love]
    • 1658, Izaak Walton, Life of Donne:
      His very soul was elemented of nothing but sadness.

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  • 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.

Anagrams[edit]

Catalan[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

element m (plural elements)

  1. element

Crimean Tatar[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin elementum

Noun[edit]

element

  1. element.

Declension[edit]

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

References[edit]

  • Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎[1], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Danish[edit]

Noun[edit]

element n (singular definite elementet, plural indefinite elementer)

  1. (set theory) element

Declension[edit]

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

References[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology[edit]

From Old French element, from Latin elementum (“a first principle, element, rudiment”); origin uncertain. Perhaps ultimately from L M N, first three letters of the second half of the Canaanite alphabet, recited by ancient scribes when learning it (in sense compare English ABC(s) (“fundamentals”)).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Audio
    		(file)
  • Hyphenation: ele‧ment
  • Rhymes: -ɛnt

Noun[edit]

element n (plural elementen, diminutive elementje n)

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

Anagrams[edit]

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology[edit]

From Latin elementum

Noun[edit]

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

  1. an element

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology[edit]

From Latin elementum

Noun[edit]

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

  1. an element

References[edit]

Polish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

element m inan

  1. element (component, piece of a larger whole)
  2. (derogatory, dated) element (group of people)
    Wieczorami w knajpie zbierał się podejrzany element.
    In the evenings, suspicious element congregated in the pub.

Declension[edit]

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

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

elèment m (Cyrillic spelling елѐмент)

  1. element

Declension[edit]

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

Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

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[edit]

Declension of element 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative element elementet element elementen
Genitive elements elementets elements elementens

Related terms[edit]

Turkish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From German Element.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ɛ.le.ˈment]
  • Hyphenation: e‧le‧ment

Noun[edit]

element (definite accusative elementi, plural elementler)

  1. (chemistry) element

Declension[edit]

Inflection
Nominative element
Definite accusative elementi
Singular Plural
Nominative element elementler
Definite accusative elementi elementleri
Dative elemente elementlere
Locative elementte elementlerde
Ablative elementten elementlerden
Genitive elementin elementlerin
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