element

noun

• 1an essential or characteristic part of something abstract:the death had all the elements of a great tabloid story there are four elements to the proposal
• a small but significant amount of a feeling or quality:it was the element of danger he loved in flying
• (elements) the rudiments of a subject:legal training may include the elements of economics and political science
• (usually with modifier often elements) a group of people of a particular kind within a larger group:extreme right-wing elements in the army
• Mathematics & Logic an entity that is a single member of a set.

• 2 (also chemical element) each of more than one hundred substances that cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances and are primary constituents of matter. Each element is distinguished by its atomic number, i.e. the number of protons in the nuclei of its atoms.

• 3any of the four substances (earth, water, air, and fire) regarded as the fundamental constituents of the world in ancient and medieval philosophy.

• 4 (the elements) strong winds, heavy rain, or other kinds of bad weather:there was no barrier against the elements

• 5a person’s or animal’s natural or preferred environment:raised in Hawaii, the sea is his natural element

• 6a part in an electric kettle, heater, or cooker which contains a wire through which an electric current is passed to provide heat.

• 7 (elements) (in church use) the bread and wine of the Eucharist.