elemento

Elemento is a term used in several Romance languages, most commonly meaning an individual part or component of a larger whole, or a basic constituent of a system. In English translations it corresponds to element. The word is used across science, mathematics, computing, and everyday language to denote a basic unit that can combine with others to form a greater structure.

Etymology: The word comes from Latin elementum, from Greek origins, and has cognates in Italian (elemento) and Spanish (elemento). The sense of a fundamental principle or constituent has long informed both scientific and philosophical usage.

Science: In chemistry, a chemical element is a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by ordinary chemical means. Elements are defined by their atomic number, and they are organized in the periodic table. Most elements occur naturally, while others are synthetic. Each element has properties such as symbol, atomic mass, and common allotropes or isotopes.

Mathematics and logic: An element (or member) of a set is an object contained in that set. The relation "is an element of" is denoted by the symbol ∈. For example, 3 ∈ {1, 2, 3, 4}. Elements can be numbers, symbols, or more complex objects.

Computing and markup: In computing, an element can refer to a basic unit of data (data element) or a component of a structure. In web technology, an HTML element is a part of a page defined by a tag, such as a paragraph or a heading.

In everyday language, elemento refers to any basic part of a system.