element (n.)

c. 1300, "earth, air, fire, or water; one of the four things regarded by the ancients as the constituents of all things," from Old French element (10c.), from Latin elementum "rudiment, first principle, matter in its most basic form" (translating Greek stoikheion), origin and original sense unknown. Meaning "simplest component of a complex substance" is late 14c. Modern sense in chemistry is from 1813, but is not essentially different from the ancient one. Meaning "proper or natural environment of anything" is from 1590s, from the old notion that each class of living beings had its natural abode in one of the four elements. Elements "atmospheric force" is 1550s.

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to element

elemental (adj.)

late 15c., "pertaining to the four elements," from Medieval Latin elementalis, from Latin elementum (see element). Meaning "pertaining to the powers of nature" is from 1823. The noun in the occult sense "a spirit of the elements" is from 1877. Related: Elementally.

elementary (adj.)

late 14c., "having the nature of one of the four elements," from Latin elementarius "belonging to the elements or rudiments," from elementum (see element). Meaning "rudimentary, involving first principles" is from 1540s; meaning "simple" is from 1620s. In elementary school (1841) it has the "rudimentary" sense.

pixel (n.)

"small, square single-colored display elements that comprise an image," 1969, coined to describe the photographic elements of a television image, from pix + first syllable of element.

Trends of element

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component

1640s, "constituent part or element" (earlier "one of a group of persons," 1560s), from Latin componentem (nominative componens), present participle of componere "to put together, to collect a whole from several parts," from com "with, together" (see com-) + ponere "to place" (se

constituent

1620s, "one who appoints or elects a representative," from Latin constituentem (nominative constituens), present participle of constituere "to cause to stand, set up, fix, place, establish, set in order; form something new; resolve," of persons, "to appoint to an office," from as

component

indium

metallic element, 1864, Modern Latin, from indicum "indigo" (see indigo) + chemical name element -ium....1882), professor of physics at Freiberg, isolated it while analyzing local zinc ores in 1863 and identified it as a new element...by the two dark blue lines in its spectrum, which did not correspond to any known element....

plutonium

transuranic metallic element, 1942, from Pluto, the planet, + element ending -ium....Discovered at University of California, Berkeley, in 1941, the element was named on suggestion of Seaborg and Wahl because...

osmium

metallic element of the platinum group, 1803, coined in Modern Latin by its discoverer, English chemist Smithson Tennant...With metallic element ending -ium. So called for the pungent smell of its oxide, a highly poisonous acid....The densest stable element, it commonly is found in alloy with iridium. Related: Osmic; osmious....

phosphorus

As the name of a solid, non-metallic, combustible chemical element, it is recorded from 1680, originally one among several...substances so called; the word used exclusively of the element from c. 1750....Lavoisier demonstrated it was an element in 1777....According to Flood, "It is the first element whose discoverer is known."...

c. 1200, worn-down form of Old English alswa "quite so, wholly so," literally "all so" (see also), fully established by c. 1400. Equivalent to so; any distinction in use is purely idiomatic. Related to German als "as, than," from Middle High German also. Phrase as well "just as m

substance

c. 1300, substaunce, "divine part or essence" common to the persons of the Trinity;" mid-14c. in philosophy and theology, "that which exists by itself; essential nature; type or kind of thing; real or essential part;" from Old French sustance, substance "goods, possessions; natur

Douai

or Douay, name of town in northern France, used elliptically in reference to the English translation of the Bible begun there late 16c., sanctioned by Roman Catholic Church. Also called Rhemish or Rheims-Douai translation because it was published in Rheims in 1582. It uses

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updated on September 28, 2017

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Dictionary entries near element

elegance

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elemental

elementary

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