ELEMENT

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin ~um Date: 13th century 1. any of the four substances air, water, fire, and earth formerly believed to compose the physical universe, weather conditions, the state or sphere natural or suited to a person or thing , a constituent part: as, the simplest principles of a subject of study ; rudiments, b. a part of a geometric magnitude , a generator of a geometric figure, a basic member of a mathematical or logical class or set, one of the individual entries in a mathematical matrix or determinant, a distinct group within a larger group or community , d. one of the necessary data or values on which calculations or conclusions are based, one of the factors determining the outcome of a process, any of the fundamental substances that consist of atoms of only one kind and that singly or in combination constitute all matter, a distinct part of a composite device, a subdivision of a military unit, the bread and wine used in the Eucharist, Synonyms: see: ~