fundamental

noun
/ˌfʌn.dəˈmɛn.təl/CA/ˌfɐn.dəˈmɛn.təl/

Etymology

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.

  1. derived from *bʰudʰmḗn
  2. derived from fundamentum
  3. borrowed from fundamentālis

Definitions

  1. A basic truth, elementary concept, principle, rule, or law. An individual fundamental…

    A basic truth, elementary concept, principle, rule, or law. An individual fundamental will often serve as a building block used to form a complex idea.

  2. A collection of essential component ideas that are often grouped together to serve as the…

    A collection of essential component ideas that are often grouped together to serve as the foundational basis of a complex idea.

    • one of the fundamentals of linear algebra
    • When any one offers me a compleat Catalogue of his Fundamentals, he does not unreaſonably demand me to quit mine for nothing[…]
    • Personal leadership is a fundamental of successful government.
  3. The lowest frequency of a periodic waveform.

  4. + 3 more definitions
    1. The lowest partial of a complex tone.

    2. Related to a foundation, base, or basis

      Related to a foundation, base, or basis; serving as a foundation.

    3. Essential

      Essential; extremely important.

      • a fundamental truth; a fundamental axiom; a fundamental element; fundamental principle; fundamental law
      • A need for belonging seems fundamental to humans.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at fundamental. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01fundamental02essential03survival04fact05interpretation06exposition07elements08tenets09tenet10principle

A definitional loop anchored at fundamental. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at fundamental

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA