element

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   One of the parts that together make up a whole.

   Trust is an important element of any good relationship.

2. 2
   noun

   A small amount or trace of a quality or feeling.

   There was an element of doubt in her voice.

3. 3
   noun

   A basic chemical substance that cannot be broken down into anything simpler, such as gold, oxygen, or hydrogen.

   Oxygen is one of the most common elements on Earth.

4. 4
   noun

   The situation or activity in which someone feels happiest and works best.

   She is in her element when she is teaching children.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Element comes from Latin elementum “principle, rudiment.” Medieval thinkers believed that everything was composed of four elements—earth, air, fire, and water—and that each living creature had a natural affinity with one of them. This gave rise to the sense of a natural or preferred environment, as in in your element. The modern chemical sense is first recorded in 1813.

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.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary