Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, relating to, or being an element.
  • adjective Fundamental or essential; basic.
  • adjective Of or relating to fundamentals; elementary.
  • adjective Constituting an integral part; inborn.
  • adjective Of such character as to resemble a force of nature in power or effect.
  • noun In certain occult systems, an inhabitant of one of the four elements, especially any of the beings described by Paracelsus as intermediate in corporeality between humans and spirits.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of, pertaining to, or of the nature of an element or elements.
  • Pertaining or relating to first principles; simple; elementary.
  • Of or pertaining to the elements of the material world: more especially used of the mobile elements, fire, air, and water, with reference to their violent or destructive action. See element, 2 and 3.
  • noun A spirit of the elements; a nature-spirit. See I., 3, and element, 2 and 3.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Pertaining to the elements, first principles, and primary ingredients, or to the four supposed elements of the material world.
  • adjective Pertaining to rudiments or first principles; rudimentary; elementary.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective chemistry of, relating to, or being an element (as opposed to a compound)
  • adjective basic, fundamental or elementary
  • adjective of the ancient supposed elements of earth, air, fire and water
  • adjective by extension of, or relating to a force or nature, especially to severe atmospheric conditions
  • noun fantasy A creature (usually a spirit) that is attuned with, or composed of, one of the classical elements: air, earth, fire and water. They sometimes have unique proper names and sometimes are referred to as Air, Earth, Fire, or Water.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective relating to or being an element
  • adjective of or being the essential or basic part
  • adjective relating to severe atmospheric conditions

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The most harmful, pure form of chlorine, what is called elemental chlorine, is no longer used to bleach paper in the U.S. Recycled paper is sometimes slightly rougher than paper made of virgin fibers from trees because it is made of shorter fibers or comes from different sources, not because of the bleaching process.

    Trying On Shades of Brown to Scream Green Sarah Nassauer 2012

  • Some would argue that's the reason we lack a certain elemental charisma.

    Maimonides who? Why Americans fail basic religion tests Alexandra Petri 2010

  • But Alan Iverson is basketball in elemental form, a guy of tiny stature who just has more game than you can imagine.

    Matthew Yglesias » The Chemistry Experiment 2009

  • The warning dose for milk-alkali syndrome is expressed in elemental calcium.

    Milk-Alkali Syndrome Steve Carper 2008

  • For the purposes of our present consideration of the non-human inhabitants of the astral plane it will be best to leave out of consideration those very early forms of the universal life which are evolving, in a manner of which we can have little comprehension, through the successive encasement of atoms, molecules and cells: for if we commence at the lowest of what are usually called the elemental kingdoms, we shall even then have to group together under this general heading an enormous number of inhabitants of the astral plane upon whom it will be possible to touch only very slightly, as anything like

    The Astral Plane Its Scenery, Inhabitants and Phenomena 1890

  • _littérateur, _ but such as you would imagine the antique heroes to make, -- that of a sweet-blooded, receptive, perfectly normal, catholic man, with, further than that, a look about him that is best suggested by the word elemental or cosmical.

    Birds and Poets : with Other Papers John Burroughs 1879

  • Progressives defend the notion of elemental human rights, the idea of a strong social safety net – food, housing, medical care, and education.

    Printing: What Do Liberals Believe? 2008

  • Progressives defend the notion of elemental human rights, the idea of a strong social safety net – food, housing, medical care, and education.

    What Do Liberals Believe? 2008

  • These forms can be organized under three headings: metallic mercury (also known as elemental mercury), inorganic mercury, and organic mercury.

    Public Health Statement for Mercury 2008

  • These forms can be organized under three headings: metallic mercury (also known as elemental mercury), inorganic mercury, and organic mercury.

    Mercury 2008

Comments

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  • An elemental is a mythological being first appearing in the alchemical works of Paracelsus. Traditionally, there are four types: gnomes, earth elementals; undines, water elementals; sylphs, air elementals; and salamanders, fire elementals.

    _Wikipedia

    January 29, 2008