Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rudimentary

/ˌɹuːdɪˈmɛntəɹi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.17 in modern English

Syllables: rudi-men-ta-ry
IPA: /ˌɹuːdɪˈmɛntəɹi/

17

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

5

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or relating to one or more rudiments; of the nature of an early stage.

adj

Basic; minimal; with less than, or only the minimum, necessary.

noun

One of the rudimentary (adjective sense 1) mammae of boars.

Example Sentences

"The state of moral and social feeling, prevalent in legendary Greece, exhibits a scene in harmony with the rudimentary political fabric just described."
"I have only a rudimentary grasp of chemistry."
"His grasp of rudimentary English allowed him at least to do the shopping."
"His rudimentary driving skills meant that he was a danger on the road."
"In these they discarded the barbarous school-books then in use, put the rudimentary study of the languages on a better footing, devoted themselves, for the sake of religion, to those accomplishments which religion had hitherto disdained; […]"
"Using a tractor fan, shock absorbers, PVC pipes, a bicycle frame and anything else he [William Kamkwamba] could lay his hands on, he then built a rudimentary wooden tower, plonked his home-made generator on the top, and eventually got one, and then four bulbs to light up."

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin rudis Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Latin rudīmentumbor. Old French rudiment English rudiment Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusder. Middle English -arie English -ary New Latin rudimentariusder.? English rudimentary From rudiment + -ary (adjectival suffix), perhaps after New Latin rudīmentārius, from Classical Latin rudīmentum (“first attempt; beginning”) + -ārius (adjectival suffix). Compare French rudimentaire.

Word Breakdown

Root: rudīmentārius, rudīmentum
Suffix: rudiment

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌɹuːdɪˈmɛntəɹi/

Inflected Forms

more rudimentary (comparative) most rudimentary (superlative) rudimentaries (plural)

Derived Forms

rudimentaries rudimentarily rudimentariness

Frequently Paired Words

rudiment

Synonyms

immature imperfect rudimental undeveloped modest stripped down austere bare bare-bones bargain basic cheap

Rhymes With

documentary parliamentary supplementary complimentary sedimentary alimentary testamentary

Questions

How do you pronounce rudimentary?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌɹuːdɪˈmɛntəɹi/.
What does rudimentary mean?: Of or relating to one or more rudiments; of the nature of an early stage.
Where does rudimentary come from?: Etymology tree Latin rudis Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Latin rudīmentumbor. Old French rudiment English rudiment Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusder. Middle English -arie English -ary New Latin rudimentariusder.? English rudimentary From rudiment + -ary (adjectival suffix), perhaps after New Latin rudīmentārius, from Classical Latin rudīmentum (“first attempt; beginning”) + -ārius (adjectival suffix). Compare French rudimentaire.

How to pronounce rudimentary

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