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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Rudiment

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.

Rudiment

Rudiment \Ru"di*ment\, v. t. To furnish with first principles or rules; to insrtuct in the rudiments.
--Gayton.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
rudiment

1540s, from Middle French rudiment (16c.) or directly from Latin rudimentum "early training, first experience, beginning, first principle," from rudis "unlearned, untrained" (see rude). Related: Rudiments.

Wiktionary
rudiment

n. 1 A fundamental principle or skill, especially in a field of learning (often in the plural). 2 Something in an undeveloped form (often in the plural). 3 (context biology English) A body part that no longer has a function 4 (context music English) In percussion, one of a selection of basic drum patterns learned as an exercise.

WordNet
rudiment
  1. n. the elementary stages of any subject (usually plural); "he mastered only 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"

Wikipedia
Rudiment (disambiguation)

Rudiment may refer to:

  • Rudiment, one of a set of basic patterns used in rudimental drumming
  • Rudiments of music, a technical term for the basic elements of music theory and the terminology used to describe them
  • Rudiment, an incompletely developed organ, a form of vestigiality
  • The Rudiments, a 1990s ska/punk rock band signed to Asian Man Records
  • Rudiment, an album by the rhythm and blues group Natural Afrodisiac

Usage examples of "rudiment".

The Gnosis, even the few rudiments known by Inrau, was more valuable than any single life.

So, likewise, are there numerous, acute diseases of a milder character which are easily and unmistakably recognized without the possession of great medical knowledge, and which readily yield to plain, simple, medical treatment which is within the ready reach of all who strive to acquaint themselves with the rudiments of medical science.

Its hide hung loosely upon its frame, and its rugose, dead-eyed rudiment of a head swayed drunkenly from side to side.

So it was that Skell, Torl, and Sorgan learned the rudiments of land warfare.

As Nick trundles the spunky youngster from one seedy motel to another, stuffs her with junk food, and teaches her the rudiments of spy craft, he also begins to piece together a picture of why Kevin and his family were killed.

There were two little merlins which had only just been taken up from hacking, an old peregrine who was not much use in this wooded country but who was kept for appearances, a kestrel on which the boys had learned the rudiments of falconry, a spar-hawk which Sir Ector was kind enough to keep for the parson, and, caged off in a special apartment of his own at the far end, there was the tiercel goshawk Cully.

He even commenced to acquire the rudiments of their language under the pleasant tutorage of the brown-eyed girl.

The honorable gifts, bestowed by the chief on his brave companions, have been supposed, by an ingenious writer, to contain the first rudiments of the fiefs, distributed after the conquest of the Roman provinces, by the barbarian lords among their vassals, with a similar duty of homage and military service.

But he was years away from mastering the technique, years away from proficiency in anything but the rudiments of the perfection that was Sinanju.

Not long ago, on the first sterile sea planet where Jess had distributed the living water beings, there had not been even the rudiments of monocellular life.

She was clearly the only one at court with any formal training, but his impression of her was one of a minor degree of talent, enough to teach children the rudiments of control, diagnose threshold sickness, ease a fever, or cast truthspell.

Although he had made some effort to learn the rudiments of the Quman tongue, Sanglant found it difficult to pick out individua words: eyes, spear, griffin, and the ubiquitous references to deatl and rivers, usually together.

Oh, he knew the rules, and the rudiments, and even some of the refinements, but he had no grasp whatsoever of such instruments as the gambit, the knight fork, or the defrocked bishop, and while he was all too eager to demonstrate he knew how to castle, he castled kingside when he should have castled queenside, and he castled either side when he did not need to castle at all.

Because of that, Lwo Kang had been educated to the highest level and had learned the rudiments of service in his earliest years.

Robinia, grafts of Rodents, blind Rudimentary organs Rudiments important for classification Sageret on grafts Salmons, males fighting, and hooked jaws of Salt-water, how far injurious to seeds Saurophagus sulphuratus Schiodte on blind insects Schlegel on snakes Sea-water, how far injurious to seeds Sebright, Sir J.