Hypertext Webster Gateway: "rudiment"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rudiment \Ru"di*ment\, n. [L. rudimentum, fr. rudis unwrought,
ignorant, rude: cf. F. rudiment. See {Rude}.]
1. That which is unformed or undeveloped; the principle which
lies at the bottom of any development; an unfinished
beginning.
but I will bring thee where thou soon shalt quit
Those rudiments, and see before thine eyes The
monarchies of the earth. --Milton.
the single leaf is the rudiment of beauty in
landscape. --I. Taylor.
2. Hence, an element or first principle of any art or
science; a beginning of any knowledge; a first step.
This boy is forest-born, And hath been tutored in
the rudiments of many desperate studies. --Shak.
There he shall first lay down the rudiments Of his
great warfare. --Milton.
3. (Biol.) An imperfect organ or part, or one which is never
developed.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rudiment \Ru"di*ment\, v. t.
To furnish with first principles or rules; to insrtuct in the
rudiments. --Gayton.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
rudiment
n 1: the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural); "he
mastered the rudiments of geometry" [syn: {first
rudiment}, {first principle}, {alphabet}, {ABC}, {ABC's},
{ABCs}]
2: the remains of a body part that was functional at an earlier
stage of life; "Meckel's diverticulum is the rudiment of
the embryonic yolk sac"
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