Element

How to spell element

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce element

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does element mean?

1. nounA basic or essential part of something larger.
2. nounA pure substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means.
3. nounThe coiled wire in an appliance that heats up when current passes through it.

Element in a sentence

• Trust is a vital element of any working partnership.

• Hydrogen is the lightest element on the periodic table.

• The kettle stopped boiling after the heating element burnt out.

• The budget review highlighted one risky element of the plan.

• Each element is identified by its number of protons.

• A plumber replaced the faulty element in the immersion heater.

Where does element come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin elementum, which meant a first principle, a rudiment, or one of the basic substances out of which the world was thought to be made. Roman writers used it especially for the four classical building blocks of nature, earth, water, air, and fire, and also for the individual letters of the alphabet, since letters were seen as the basic units of writing. The origin of the Latin word itself is genuinely uncertain, though one charming old theory suggests it was formed from the names of a run of letters in the alphabet, much as we say a child learns their ABCs. English took the word in during the 1200s through Old French, keeping both the sense of a basic component and the sense of the natural forces. In chemistry the meaning later narrowed to a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances, the sense that dominates today. The single -e- vowels throughout are the main spelling point: it is el-e-ment, not 'elament' or 'elemant'.

How the word is built

• element (from Latin elementum: a first principle or rudiment)