fundamental

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Forming the basic and most important part of something; essential.

   Honesty is a fundamental part of any good friendship.

2. 2
   adj

   Far-reaching and affecting the very nature of something.

   The new law brought a fundamental change to how schools are run.

3. 3
   noun

   A basic rule or principle that other ideas are built on.

   You must master the fundamentals of grammar first.

From Late Latin fundamentālis, from Latin fundamentum (“foundation”), from fundō (“to lay the foundation (of something), to found”), from fundus (“bottom”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn.

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