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