elementary

[ el-uh-men-tuh-ree, -tree ]
See synonyms for elementary on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. pertaining to or dealing with elements, rudiments, or first principles: an elementary grammar.

  2. of or relating to an elementary school: elementary teachers.

  1. of the nature of an ultimate constituent; simple or uncompounded.

  2. pertaining to the four elements, earth, water, air, and fire, or to the great forces of nature; elemental.

  3. Chemistry. of or noting one or more elements.

Origin of elementary

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English elementare (from Middle French elementaire ), from Latin elementārius. See element, -ary

synonym study For elementary

1. Elementary, primary, rudimentary refer to what is basic and fundamental. Elementary refers to the introductory, simple, easy facts or parts of a subject that must necessarily be learned first in order to understand succeeding ones: elementary arithmetic. Primary may mean much the same as elementary; however, it usually emphasizes the idea of what comes first even more than that of simplicity: primary steps. Rudimentary applies to what is undeveloped or imperfect: a rudimentary form of government.

Other words from elementary

  • el·e·men·tar·i·ly [el-uh-men-ter-uh-lee], /ˌɛl ə mɛnˈtɛr ə li/, adverb
  • el·e·men·ta·ri·ness, noun
  • non·el·e·men·ta·ry, adjective
  • post·el·e·men·ta·ry, adjective
  • pre·el·e·men·ta·ry, adjective
  • qua·si-el·e·men·ta·ry, adjective
  • su·per·el·e·men·ta·ry, adjective
  • trans·el·e·men·ta·ry, adjective
  • un·el·e·men·ta·ry, adjective

Words that may be confused with elementary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for elementary

elementary

/ (ˌɛlɪˈmɛntərɪ, -trɪ) /


adjective
  1. not difficult; simple; rudimentary

  2. of or concerned with the first principles of a subject; introductory or fundamental

  1. maths (of a function) having the form of an algebraic, exponential, trigonometric, or a logarithmic function, or any combination of these

  2. chem another word for elemental (def. 5)

Derived forms of elementary

  • elementarily, adverb
  • elementariness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012