element

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
element/ˈelɪmənt/

▶noun

• 1 a basic constituent part.

  ■ an aspect: an element of danger.

  ■ a group of a particular kind within a larger group: right-wing elements.

• 2 (also chemical element) each of more than one hundred substances that cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down, each consisting of atoms with a particular atomic number.

• 3 any 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) bad weather.

• 5 one's natural or preferred environment: she was in her element.

• 6 a part in an electric device consisting of a wire through which an electric current is passed to provide heat.

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

– origin ME: via OFr. from L. elementum ‘principle, rudiment’.