fundamental English · revision 5911

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1443|origins=la-lat fundamentalis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˌfʌn.dəˈmen.təl/, US /ˌfʌn.dəˈmen.t̬əl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably formed [[af|en|fundament|-al]], modelled on Late Latin [[m|la-lat|fundāmentālis|t=of the foundation]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|fundāmentum|t=foundation]], from fundāre “to found” (see [[found]]);^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) the NODE and SOED also allow French fondamental.^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Primary, original, or going to the root of a matter: about 1443 in Barnhart, about 1449 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Serving as the foundation on which something is built is from 1601,^(OED 1989) and literally of the foundation of a building from 1611, now obsolete.^(OED 1989) In mathematics and crystallography it is from 1570.^(OED 1989) In music the fundamental note, the lowest of a chord, is from 1732,^(Etymonline) and in physics the lowest frequency of a vibrating system came later.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) ''Fundamentals'', primary rules or principles, is from the 1630s.^(Etymonline) ''Fundamentalist'', one who reads the Bible literally, is American English from 1922, and ''fundamentalism'' from 1923.^(Barnhart 1988) In Scots the fundamental was humorously the seat of the breeches.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1443 – primary, original.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1570 – in mathematics.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1601 – serving as a foundation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1630s – ''fundamentals''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1732 – in music.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1922 – ''fundamentalist''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Forming the base or core of something; [[essential]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Very important, or involving great change: ''fundamental reform''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(music)'' Of the lowest note of a chord or harmonic series.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(physics)'' Of the lowest [[frequency]] of a vibrating system.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(often plural)'' A basic principle or rule: ''the fundamentals of chess''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(music, physics)'' The lowest note or frequency of a series.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fundamentally]]

+ * [[fundamentality]]

+ * [[fundamentalism]]

+ * [[nonfundamental]]

+ * [[unfundamental]]

+ * [[fundamental frequency]]

+ * [[fundamental group]]

+ * [[fundamental particle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fundament]]

+ * [[fundamentalist]]

+ * [[found]]

+ * [[foundation]]

+ * [[fund]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}