FUNDAMENTAL

cardinal, central, fundamental, key, primal

(adjective) serving as an essential component; “a cardinal rule”; “the central cause of the problem”; “an example that was fundamental to the argument”; “computers are fundamental to modern industrial structure”

fundamental, rudimentary, underlying

(adjective) being or involving basic facts or principles; “the fundamental laws of the universe”; “a fundamental incompatibility between them”; “these rudimentary truths”; “underlying principles”

fundamental, profound

(adjective) far-reaching and thoroughgoing in effect especially on the nature of something; “the fundamental revolution in human values that has occurred”; “the book underwent fundamental changes”; “committed the fundamental error of confusing spending with extravagance”; “profound social changes”

fundamental, fundamental frequency, first harmonic

(noun) the lowest tone of a harmonic series

fundamental

(noun) any factor that could be considered important to the understanding of a particular business; “fundamentals include a company’s growth, revenues, earnings, management, and capital structure”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

fundamental (plural fundamentals)

(usually, in the plural) A leading or primary principle, rule, law, or article, which serves as the groundwork of a system; an essential part

(physics) The lowest frequency of a periodic waveform.

(music) The lowest partial of a complex tone.

Adjective

fundamental (comparative more fundamental, superlative most fundamental)

Pertaining to the foundation or basis; serving for the foundation.

Essential, as an element, principle, or law; important; original; elementary.

Synonyms

• groundlaying

• See also bare-bones

Hyponyms

• quite-as-fundamental

• not-quite-as-fundamental

Source: Wiktionary


Fun`da*men"tal, a. Etym: [Cf. F. fondamental.]

Definition: Pertaining to the foundation or basis; serving for the foundation. Hence: Essential, as an element, principle, or law; important; original; elementary; as, a fundamental truth; a fundamental axiom. The fundamental reasons of this war. Shak. Some fundamental antithesis in nature. Whewell. Fundamental bass (Mus.), the root note of a chord; a bass formed of the roots or fundamental tones of the chords.

– Fundamental chord (Mus.), a chord, the lowest tone of which is its root.

– Fundamental colors, red, green, and violet-blue. See Primary colors, under Color.

Fun"da*men`tal, n.

Definition: A leading or primary principle, rule, law, or article, which serves as the groundwork of a system; essential part, as, the fundamentals of the Christian faith.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

10 June 2025

COMMUNICATIONS

(noun) the discipline that studies the principles of transmiting information and the methods by which it is delivered (as print or radio or television etc.); “communications is his major field of study”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the most massive cup of coffee contained 22,739.14 liters and was created by Alcaldía Municipal de Chinchiná (Colombia) at Parque de Bolívar, Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia, on 15 June 2019. Fifty people worked for more than a month to build this giant cup. The drink prepared was Arabic coffee.

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