Rudiment
['ruːdɪm(ə)nt] or ['rʊdəmənt]
Definition
(noun.) the remains of a body part that was functional at an earlier stage of life; 'Meckel's diverticulum is the rudiment of the embryonic yolk sac'.
(noun.) the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural); 'he mastered only the rudiments of geometry'.
Editor: Nat--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) That which is unformed or undeveloped; the principle which lies at the bottom of any development; an unfinished beginning.
(n.) Hence, an element or first principle of any art or science; a beginning of any knowledge; a first step.
(n.) An imperfect organ or part, or one which is never developed.
(v. t.) To furnish with first principles or rules; to insrtuct in the rudiments.
Checker: Victoria
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Embryo, rude state, starting point.[2]. Element, first principle, essential point.
Typist: Wesley
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Principle, begin, ning, germ, seed, embryo, element, nucleus, initiation,commencement
ANT:Perfection, completion, development, expansion, organization, fruit, maturity,consummation, product, issue
Edited by Francine
Definition
n. anything in its rude or first state: a first principle or element: (pl.) the introduction to any science: (biol.) that which is in its first stage of development: the beginning of any part or organ that which is vestigial an aborted part.—v.t. to ground: to settle in first principles.—adjs. Rudimen′tal Rudimen′tary pertaining to consisting in or containing rudiments or first principles: initial: elementary: undeveloped: (biol.) beginning to be formed: arrested in development.—adv. Rudimen′tarily.—n. Rudimentā′tion.
Edited by Lancelot
Examples
- A mere tendency to produce a rudiment is indeed sometimes thus inherited. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Their bodies were smaller and lighter in color, and their fingers and toes bore the rudiments of nails, which were entirely lacking among the males. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- On their arrival the Jew clothed the boy handsomely and instructed him in the first rudiments of his art. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Geography, as often taught, illustrates the former; mathematics, beyond the rudiments of figuring, the latter. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- The petals in the imperfect flowers almost always consist of mere rudiments, and the pollen-grains are reduced in diameter. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- But I, who had more experience, could plainly observe some rudiments of it among the wild _Yahoos_. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- Meantime better instruments had been secured, and the rudiments of telegraphy had been fairly mastered. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- He was the first-born of Newland and May Archer, yet it had never been possible to inculcate in him even the rudiments of reserve. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- It is, nevertheless, a frequent practice to start in instruction with the rudiments of science somewhat simplified. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Nevertheless, in the Seraphic creature with the haymaking rake, were clearly to be discerned the rudiments of the Patriarch with the list shoes. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- For the workers of Myrmica have not even rudiments of ocelli, though the male and female ants of this genus have well-developed ocelli. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
Inputed by Byron