Component

How to spell component

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce component

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does component mean?

1. nounAn individual part or element that combines with others to form a whole machine, system or structure.
2. adjectiveBeing one of the parts that together make up a larger whole.

Component in a sentence

• noun

  The technician replaced a faulty component in the printer.

• adjective

  The report breaks the budget down into its component costs.

• noun

  Trust is the most important component of any working partnership.

• adjective

  Engineers studied each component stage of the production line.

Where does component come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin componere, meaning 'to put together' or 'to arrange', formed from com- 'together' and ponere 'to put or place'. The present participle componentem described something 'being put together', and it is this form that English adopted in the early 1600s, first as an adjective for the parts that make up a whole. The same ponere root sits behind a whole family of English words, including 'compose', 'opponent', 'deposit' and 'position', all of which involve some idea of placing or putting. Over time 'component' settled firmly into use as a noun for any individual part of a larger machine, system or structure. The spelling stays close to its Latin source, and the easily slurred middle vowel (the unstressed schwa in com-PO-nent) is the spot where writers occasionally hesitate.

How the word is built

• com- (together)
• pon (from Latin ponere: to put, place)
• -ent (forming a noun or adjective)