■ noun
1》 a basic constituent participle
↘an aspect: an ~ of danger.
↘a group of a particular kind within a larger group: right-wing ~s.
2》 (also chemical ~ ) each of more than one hundred substances that cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down, each consisting of atoms with a particular atomic number.
3》 any of the four substances (earth, water, air, and fire) regarded as the fundamental constituents of the world in ancient and medieval philosophy.
4》 ( the ~s ) bad weather.
5》 one's natural or preferred environment: she was in her ~.
6》 a part in an electric device consisting of a wire through which an electric current is passed to provide heat.
7》 ( ~s ) (in church use) the bread and wine of the Eucharist.
Origin
ME: via OFr. from L. ~um 'principle, rudiment'.