Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
rudiment
7 dictionary results for: rudiment
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ru·di·ment       [roo-duh-muhnt] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.Usually, rudiments.
a.the elements or first principles of a subject: the rudiments of grammar.
b.a mere beginning, first slight appearance, or undeveloped or imperfect form of something: the rudiments of a plan.
2.Biology. an organ or part incompletely developed in size or structure, as one in an embryonic stage, one arrested in growth, or one with no functional activity, as a vestige.
[Origin: 1540–50; < L rudīmentum early training, first experience, initial stage, equiv. to rudi(s) unformed, rough (see rude) + -mentum -ment (-ī- for -i- after verbal derivs.)]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ru·di·ment       (rōō'də-mənt)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A fundamental element, principle, or skill, as of a field of learning. Often used in the plural.
  2. Something in an incipient or undeveloped form. Often used in the plural: the rudiments of social behavior in children; the rudiments of a plan of action.
  3. Biology An imperfectly or incompletely developed organ or part.


[Latin rudīmentum, from rudis, rough, unformed.]

ru'di·men'tal (-měn'tl) adj.
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
rudiment 
1548, from M.Fr. (16c.), from L. rudimentum "early training, first experience, beginning, first principle," from rudis "unlearned, untrained" (see rude). Rudimentary is from 1839.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
rudiment

noun
1. the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural); "he mastered only the rudiments of geometry" 
2. 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" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

rudiment ru·di·ment (r&oomacr;'də-mənt)
n.

  1. An imperfectly or incompletely developed organ or part.
  2. Something in an incipient or undeveloped form. Often used in the plural.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Rudiment

Ru"di*ment\, n. [L. rudimentum, fr. rudis unwrought, ignorant, rude: cf. F. rudiment. See Rude.]

1. That which is unformed or undeveloped; the principle which lies at the bottom of any development; an unfinished beginning.

but I will bring thee where thou soon shalt quit Those rudiments, and see before thine eyes The monarchies of the earth. --Milton.

the single leaf is the rudiment of beauty in landscape. --I. Taylor.

2. Hence, an element or first principle of any art or science; a beginning of any knowledge; a first step.

This boy is forest-born, And hath been tutored in the rudiments of many desperate studies. --Shak.

There he shall first lay down the rudiments Of his great warfare. --Milton.

3. (Biol.) An imperfect organ or part, or one which is never developed.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Rudiment

Ru"di*ment\, v. t. To furnish with first principles or rules; to insrtuct in the rudiments. --Gayton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT
Share This:Share This: digg.comShare This: ma.gnolia.comShare This: www.stumbleupon.comShare This: del.icio.usShare This: FacebookShare This: favorites.live.comShare This: www.technorati.comShare This: furl.netShare This: myweb2.search.yahoo.comShare This: www.google.com