rudiment

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: ru=di=ment

CIDE DICTIONARY

rudiment, n. [L. rudimentum, fr. rudis unwrought, ignorant, rude: cf. F. rudiment. See Rude.].

•  That which is unformed or undeveloped; the principle which lies at the bottom of any development; an unfinished beginning.  [1913 Webster]

  "but I will bring thee where thou soon shalt quit
  Those rudiments, and see before thine eyes
  The monarchies of the earth."  [1913 Webster]

  "the single leaf is the rudiment of beauty in landscape."  [1913 Webster]
•  Hence, an element or first principle of any art or science; a beginning of any knowledge; a first step.  [1913 Webster]

  "This boy is forest-born,
  And hath been tutored in the rudiments
  of many desperate studies."  [1913 Webster]

  "There he shall first lay down the rudiments
  Of his great warfare."  [1913 Webster]
•  An imperfect organ or part, or one which is never developed.  [1913 Webster]

rudiment, v. t. 

 To furnish with first principles or rules; to insrtuct in the rudiments.  Gayton.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

rudiment, n.
1 (in pl.) the elements or first principles of a subject.
2 (in pl.) an imperfect beginning of something undeveloped or yet to develop.
3 a part or organ imperfectly developed as being vestigial or having no function (e.g. the breast in males).

Etymology

F rudiment or L rudimentum (as RUDE, after elementum ELEMENT)

THESAURUS

rudiment

Anlage, base, basement, basic, basis, bearing wall, bed, bedding, bedrock, blastula, bud, egg, element, elements, embryo, fetus, floor, flooring, fond, footing, foundation, fundament, fundamental, fundamentals, germ, germen, grammar, ground, grounds, groundwork, hardpan, larva, loins, nucleus, nymph, ovum, part and parcel, pavement, principle, principles, radical, riprap, rock bottom, seat, seed, sill, solid ground, solid rock, spermatozoon, stereobate, stylobate, substratum, terra firma, underbuilding, undercarriage, undergirding, underpinning, understruction, understructure, zygote

ROGET THESAURUS

rudiment

Beginning

N beginning, commencement, opening, outset, incipience, inception, inchoation, introduction, alpha, initial, inauguration, debut, le premier pas, embarcation, rising of the curtain, maiden speech, outbreak, onset, brunt, initiative, move, first move, narrow end of the wedge, thin end of the wedge, fresh start, new departure, origin, source, rise, bud, germ, egg, rudiment, genesis, primogenesis, birth, nativity, cradle, infancy, start, inception, creation, starting point, dawn, evolution, title-page, head, heading, van, caption, fatihah, entrance, entry, inlet, orifice, mouth, chops, lips, porch, portal, portico, propylon, door, gate, gateway, postern, wicket, threshold, vestibule, propylaeum, skirts, border, first stage, first blush, first glance, first impression, first sight, rudiments, elements, outlines, grammar, alphabet, ABC, beginning, initial, initiatory, initiative, inceptive, introductory, incipient, proemial, inaugural, inchoate, inchoative, embryonic, rudimental, primogenial, primeval, primitive, primordial, aboriginal, natal, nascent, first, foremost, leading, maiden, begun, just begun, at the beginning, in the beginning first, in the first place, imprimis, first and foremost, in limine, in the bud, in embryo, in its infancy, from the beginning, from its birth, ab initio, ab ovo, ab incunabilis, ab origine, let's get going!, let's get this show on the road!, up and at 'em!, aller Anfang ist schwer, dimidium facti qui coepit habet, omnium rerum principia parva sunt.

Cause

N cause, origin, source, principle, element, occasioner, prime mover, primum mobile, vera causa, author, mainspring, agent, leaven, groundwork, foundation, spring, fountain, well, font, fountainhead, spring head, wellhead, fons et origo, genesis, descent, remote cause, influence, pivot, hinge, turning point, lever, crux, fulcrum, key, proximate cause, causa causans, straw that breaks the camel's back, ground, reason, reason why, why and wherefore, rationale, occasion, derivation, final cause, les dessous des cartes, undercurrents, rudiment, egg, germ, embryo, bud, root, radix radical, etymon, nucleus, seed, stem, stock, stirps, trunk, tap-root, gemmule, radicle, semen, sperm, nest, cradle, nursery, womb, nidus, birthplace, hotbed, causality, causation, origination, production, caused, causal, original, primary, primitive, primordial, aboriginal, protogenal, radical, embryonic, embryotic, in embryo, in ovo, seminal, germinal, at the bottom of, connate, having a common origin, because, behind the scenes, causa latet vis est notissima, felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.

Littleness

N littleness, smallness, exiguity, inextension, parvitude, parvity, duodecimo, Elzevir edition, epitome, microcosm, rudiment, vanishing point, thinness, dwarf, pygmy, pigmy, Liliputian, chit, pigwidgeon, urchin, elf, atomy, dandiprat, doll, puppet, Tom Thumb, Hop-o'-my-thumb, manikin, mannikin, homunculus, dapperling, cock-sparrow, animalcule, monad, mite, insect, emmet, fly, midge, gnat, shrimp, minnow, worm, maggot, entozoon, bacteria, infusoria, microzoa, phytozoaria, microbe, grub, tit, tomtit, runt, mouse, small fry, millet seed, mustard seed, barleycorn, pebble, grain of sand, molehill, button, bubble, point, atom, fragment, powder, point of a pin, mathematical point, minutiae, micrometer, vernier, scale, microphotography, photomicrography, micrography, photomicrograph, microphotograph, microscopy, microscope (optical instruments), little, small, minute, diminutive, microscopic, microzoal, inconsiderable, exiguous, puny, tiny, wee, petty, minikin, miniature, pygmy, pigmy, elfin, undersized, dwarf, dwarfed, dwarfish, spare, stunted, limited, cramp, cramped, pollard, Liliputian, dapper, pocket, portative, portable, duodecimo, dumpy, squat, short, impalpable, intangible, evanescent, imperceptible, invisible, inappreciable, insignificant, inconsiderable, trivial, infinitesimal, homoeopathic, atomic, subatomic, corpuscular, molecular, rudimentary, rudimental, embryonic, vestigial, weazen, scant, scraggy, scrubby, thin, granular, shrunk, brevipennate, in a small compass, in a nutshell, on a small scale, minutely, microscopically.