element

Examples
#1: hydrogen #2: helium #3: lithium #4: beryllium #5: boron #6: carbon #7: nitrogen #8: oxygen #9: fluorine #10: neon

From Middle English element, from Old French element, from Latin elementum (“a first principle, element, rudiment”) (see further etymology there).

The verb is from Middle English elementen, from the noun.^[1]

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ĕl'ĭmənt, IPA^(key): /ˈɛlɪmənt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɛləmənt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: el‧e‧ment

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.

   • 1881, Benjamin Jowett, Thucydides:

     The simplicity which is so large an element in a noble nature was laughed to scorn.

   2. (chemistry) Any one of the types of atom distinguished by having a certain number of protons in its nucleus.^[2]

      Synonym: chemical element

      Hypernyms: substance, material

      Hyponyms: alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, chalcogen, pnictogen, halogen, metal, noble gas, rare earth element, rare earth metal

      • 2013, “Elements for Kids — Hydrogen”, in www.duckster.com‎^[2], archived from the original on 15 July 2013:

        Hydrogen is the first element in the periodic table. It is the simplest possible atom composed of one proton in the nucleus which is orbited by a single electron.

   3. (chemistry) A chemical substance made entirely of one such type of atom; 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.

      Synonyms: elementary substance, chemical element

      Hypernyms: substance, material

      Hyponyms: alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, chalcogen, pnictogen, halogen, metal, noble gas, rare earth element, rare earth metal

   5. One of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air.
   6. (usually in the plural) A basic, simple substance out of which something is made, raw material.
      • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:

        Thus ſhall my heart be ſtil combinde with thine,
        Untill our bodies turne to Elements:
        And both our ſoules aſpire celeſtiall thrones.

   7. (law) A required aspect or component of a cause of action. A deed is regarded as a violation of law only if each element can be proved.
   8. (set theory) One of the objects in a set.

      Synonym: member

      • 1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xi:

        […] the majority of names being compounded of two elements chosen from a stock of special name-words.

   9. (mathematics) One of the entries of a matrix.
   10. Any of the teeth of a zip fastener.
2. A small part of the whole.

   an element of the picture

3. A small but present amount of a quality, a hint.

   an element of doubt

   • 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.

4. A factor, one of the conditions contributing to a result.
5. (obsolete) The sky.
   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LXIX”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC:

     Sometimes, solitude is of all things my wish; and the awful silence of the night, the spangled element, and the rising and setting sun, how promotive of contemplation!

6. (obsolete) Any one of the heavenly spheres believed to carry the celestial bodies in premodern cosmology.
8. (in the plural only, with "the") Atmospheric forces such as strong winds and rains.

   exposed to the elements

10. A place or state of being that a person or object is best suited to.

    to be in one’s element

11. (Christianity, usually in the plural) The bread and wine taken at Holy Communion.
13. A group of people within a larger group having a particular common characteristic.

    You sometimes find the hooligan element at football matches.

14. (in the plural only) The basic principles of a field of knowledge, basics, fundamentals, rudiments.
    • 1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 198:

      Miniature Nuremberg kitchens complete with all the utensils were said to teach children the elements of housewifery.

15. 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.

16. (mathematics) An infinitesimal interval of a quantity, a differential.

    The element of area in Cartesian coordinates is dx dy.

17. (astronomy) An orbital element; one of the parameters needed to uniquely specify a particular orbit.
19. (computing) One of the conceptual objects in a markup language, usually represented in text by 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.

• atom

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

2. To compound (something) out of elements.
   • 1611 or 1612 (date written), J[ohn] Donne, “A Valediction Forbidding Mourning”, in Poems, […] with Elegies on the Authors Death, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Iohn Marriot, […], published 1633, →OCLC, page 194:

     Dull ſublunary lovers love / (VVhoſe ſoule is ſenſe) cannot admit / Abſence, becauſe it doth remove / Thoſe things vvhich elemented it.

   • 1661, Robert Boyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Sceptical Chymist: or Chymico-physical Doubts & Paradoxes, […], London: […] J. Cadwell for J. Crooke, […], →OCLC:

     elemented bodies

   • 1681, Tho[mas] Maunyngham, Two Discourses‎^[3], London: Will[iam] Cademan, page 89:

     [W]hen he ſays, he has compaſſion on’em, they ſhould ask, where then are his Bowels!  […] Alaſs! fond Creature, thou art Elemented and Organ’d for other Apprehenſions  […]

3. To constitute and be the elements of (something).
   • 1658, Izaak Walton, Life of Donne:

     His very soul was elemented of nothing but sadness.

• transelement

• 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.

• “element”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “element”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

• leetmen

Borrowed from Latin elementum.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ə.ləˈmen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ə.ləˈment]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [e.leˈment]

element m (plural elements)

1. , a component part of a thing
2. (plural) fundamental principles or simpler notions of a knowledge system
3. (plural) set of natural forces (the weather, the sea, etc)
4. (chemistry) , a simple substance that cannot be broken down into others by chemical methods
5. (biology) the environment in which a being lives

   (idiomatic) trobar-se algú en el seu element ― to be somebody in the situation that best suits their tastes or abilities (an idiom, literally to be in one's element)

6. (math) , an object that belongs to a set
7. (pejorative) a person, an individual

• elemental
• element químic

• “element”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “element”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “element” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “element” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Latin elementum.

element

1. element.

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[4], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Inherited from Old Czech element, from Latin elementum.

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛlɛmɛnt]

• Audio:

  (file)

element m inan

1. element (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)
   1. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)
2. elementary (basic knowledge or fact)
3. (literary) element (small part of the whole)
4. (physics) galvanic cell

• “element”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “element”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “element”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

element n (singular definite elementet, plural indefinite elementer)

1. (set theory) element

• “element” in Den Danske Ordbog

From Middle Dutch element, from Old French element, from Latin elementum (“a first principle, element, rudiment”), of uncertain origin (see further etymology there).

• IPA^(key): /ˌeː.ləˈmɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ele‧ment
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

element n (plural elementen, diminutive elementje n)

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

• → Indonesian: elemen

• leemten

Borrowed from Polish element.

• IPA^(key): /ɛˈlɛ.mɛnt/
• Rhymes: -ɛmɛnt
• Syllabification: e‧le‧ment

element m inan

1. element (small part of the whole)

• Jan Trepczyk (1994) “element”, in Słownik polsko-kaszubski (in Kashubian), volumes 1–2
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “element”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[5]

From Latin elementum.

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

1. an element

• “element” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Latin elementum.

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

1. an element

• “element” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• elementum

Learned borrowing from Latin elementum.^[1]

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈɛlɛmɛnt/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈɛlɛmɛnt/

element m inan

1. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)

• Czech: element

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “element”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

• aliment

Learned borrowing from Latin elementum.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} First attested in the middle of the 15th century.

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /ɛlʲɛ(ː)mɛ(ː)nt/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ɛlʲɛmɛnt/, /ɛlʲement/

element m animacy unattested

1. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)
   • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa‎^[6], page 5:

     Czthyrzy zyvyoly... albo alymenta szą od czyebye stvorzony (elementa quatuor a te sunt creata), ymysz ma bycz zyvo wschystko stvorzenye. To sa ta czvsch ozm ozm alymenta: ogyen, zyemya, vylkoscz y povyetrze

     [Cztyrzy żywioły... albo alimenta są od Ciebie stworzony (elementa quatuor a Te sunt creata), imiż ma być żywo wszystko stworzenie, to są, toczusz alimenta: ogień, ziemia, wilkość i powietrze]

• Polish: element
• Silesian: elymynt

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “element”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

• elementum

Learned borrowing from Latin elementum.^[1]

element m inan

1. element (basic substance)
2. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)

• Slovak: element

• Majtán, Milan et al., editors (1991–2008), “element”, in Historický slovník slovenského jazyka [Historical Dictionary of the Slovak Language] (in Slovak), volumes 1–7 (A – Ž), Bratislava: VEDA, →OCLC

Inherited from Old Polish element.

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛmɛnt
• Syllabification: e‧le‧ment

element m inan (diminutive elemencik)

1. element (small part of the whole)
2. member; dregs (person or group with negative traits)

   Wieczorami w knajpie zbierał się podejrzany element. ― In the evenings, a suspicious group congregated in the pub.

3. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)

   Synonym: żywioł

4. (mathematics) element (infinitesimal interval of a quantity, a differential)
5. (in the plural) elements (basic principles of a field of knowledge, basics, fundamentals, rudiments)

   Synonym: podstawy

6. (obsolete, chemistry) element (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)

   Synonym: pierwiastek

7. (Middle Polish) substance

   Synonym: substancja

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), element is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 49 times in scientific texts, 12 times in news, 44 times in essays, 6 times in fiction, and 0 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 111 times, making it the 549th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.^[1]

• element in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• element in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “element”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• “ELEMENT”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 23.10.2012
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “element”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “element”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “element”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 689
• element in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego

Borrowed from French élément, from Latin elementum.

element n (plural elemente)

1. element

• elèmenat (Bosnian, Serbian)

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

elèment m inan (Cyrillic spelling елѐмент)

1. element

Inherited from Old Slovak element, from Latin elementum.

• IPA^(key): [ˈelement]

element m inan

1. element (small part of the whole)
2. element (one of the four basic building blocks of matter in theories of ancient philosophers and alchemists: water, earth, fire, and air)
3. (chemistry) element (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)
4. element (factor, one of the conditions contributing to a result)
5. (engineering) A simple machine component occurring separately or as a whole on various devices.

element m animal or m pers

1. member; dregs (person or group with negative traits)

• “element”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

• Audio:

  (file)

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

• elementär
• elementa
• elementar-

From Latin elementum. Doublet of eleman.

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

element (definite accusative elementi, plural elementler)

1. (chemistry) element