fundamental
noun
- underlying measure
adjective
- pertaining to underlying principles
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˌfʌn.dəˈmɛn.təl/ / [fʌn.dəˈmɛn.tɫ̩] / /ˌfɐn.dəˈmen.təl/
adj
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.
- Related to a foundation, base, or basis; serving as a foundation.
- Essential; extremely important.
“a fundamental truth; a fundamental axiom; a fundamental element; fundamental principle; fundamental law”
“A need for belonging seems fundamental to humans.”
noun
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.
- 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.
- 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[…]”
- The lowest frequency of a periodic waveform.
- The lowest partial of a complex tone.