rudiment
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
rudiment /ˈruːdɪm(ə)nt/
▶noun
- 1 (rudiments) the first principles of a subject.
■ an elementary or primitive form of something.
- 2 Biology an undeveloped or immature part or organ.
- 3 Music a basic pattern used by drummers, such as the roll, the flam, and the paradiddle.
– origin C16: from Fr., or from L. rudimentum, from rudis ‘unwrought’.
'rudiment' also found in these Oxford entries:
