Nearby Words

components

[kuhm-poh-nuhnt, kom-] Example Sentences Origin

com·po·nent

[kuhm-poh-nuhnt, kom-]
noun
1.
a constituent part; element; ingredient.
2.
a part of a mechanical or electrical system: hi-fi components.
3.
Physics. the projection of a vector quantity, as force or velocity, along an axis.
4.
Physical Chemistry. one of the set of the minimum number of chemical constituents by which every phase of a given system can be described.
5.
Mathematics.
a.
a connected subset of a set, not contained in any other connected subset of the set.
b.
a coordinate of a vector.
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6.
Linguistics.
a.
one of the major subdivisions of a generative grammar: base component; transformational component; semantic component; phonological component. Compare level (def. 16).
b.
a feature determined by componential analysis.
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adjective
7.
being or serving as an element (in something larger); composing; constituent: the component parts of a computer system.

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Components is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

Origin:
1555–65; < Latin compōnent- (stem of compōnēns, present participle of compōnere to put together), equivalent to com- com- + pōn(ere) to put + -ent- -ent

com·po·nen·tial [kom-puh-nen-shuhl] , com·po·nen·tal, adjective
com·po·nent·ed, adjective
sub·com·po·nent, noun


1. See element.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To components
Example Sentences
  • Kellogg promotes its family of cereals, even the sugary ones, as components of a healthy diet.
  • Consider three key components in higher education-the buildings, the faculty, and the students.
  • Smelting has a further disadvantage in that shredding the boards to recover the metals destroys their components.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

component
1645, from L. componentem (nom. componens), prp. of componere "to put together" (see composite). Related: Componentry (1959).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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