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component

[kuh m-poh-nuh nt, kom-]
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noun
  1. a constituent part; element; ingredient.
  2. a part of a mechanical or electrical system: hi-fi components.
  3. Physics. the projection of a vector quantity, as force or velocity, along an axis.
  4. Physical Chemistry. one of the set of the minimum number of chemical constituents by which every phase of a given system can be described.
  5. Mathematics.
    1. a connected subset of a set, not contained in any other connected subset of the set.
    2. a coordinate of a vector.
  6. Linguistics.
    1. one of the major subdivisions of a generative grammar: base component; transformational component; semantic component; phonological component.Compare level(def 16).
    2. a feature determined by componential analysis.
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adjective
  1. being or serving as an element (in something larger); composing; constituent: the component parts of a computer system.
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Origin of component

1555–65; < Latin compōnent- (stem of compōnēns, present participle of compōnere to put together), equivalent to com- com- + pōn(ere) to put + -ent- -ent
Related formscom·po·nen·tial [kom-puh-nen-shuh l] /ˌkɒm pəˈnɛn ʃəl/, com·po·nen·tal, adjectivecom·po·nent·ed, adjectivesub·com·po·nent, noun

Synonyms

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1. See element.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for component

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • As his eyes glowed, it resolved itself into its component specks.

    Invasion

    William Fitzgerald Jenkins

  • At this suggestion the component parts of his nature began a discussion.

  • The hyphen is used between the component parts of some compound words.

    "Stops"

    Paul Allardyce

  • The fleet was an anomaly, and each of its component parts was separately a freak.

    The Pirates of Ersatz

    Murray Leinster

  • The force enters into the mores and becomes a component in them.

    Folkways

    William Graham Sumner

British Dictionary definitions for component

component

noun
  1. a constituent part or aspect of something more complexa component of a car
  2. Also called: element any electrical device, such as a resistor, that has distinct electrical characteristics and that may be connected to other electrical devices to form a circuit
  3. maths
    1. one of a set of two or more vectors whose resultant is a given vector
    2. the projection of this given vector onto a specified line
  4. one of the minimum number of chemically distinct constituents necessary to describe fully the composition of each phase in a systemSee phase rule
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adjective
  1. forming or functioning as a part or aspect; constituent
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Derived Formscomponential (ˌkɒmpəˈnɛnʃəl), adjective

Word Origin

C17: from Latin compōnere to put together, from pōnere to place, put
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for component

n.

1640s, "constitutional element" (earlier "one of a group of persons," 1560s), from Latin componentem (nominative componens), present participle of componere "to put together" (see composite). As an adjective, from 1660s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper