Webster's English Dictionary

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fundamental

Cross references:
  1. essential             
 
1. fun.da.men.tal \.f*n-d*-'ment-*l\ \-*l-e-\ aj 1a: serving as an original 
   or generating source : PRIMARY  1b: serving as a basis supporting existence 
   or determining essential struc ture or function : BASIC 2a: of or relating 
   to essential structure, function, or facts : RADIC AL {~ change} : ; specif 
   : of or dealing with general principles rather than practical application 
   {~ science} 2b: FUNDAMENTALIST  of a musical chord or its position  3a: 
   having the root in the bass  3b: of, relating to, or produced by the lowest 
   component of a complex vibr ation 4: of central importance : PRINCIPAL {~ 
   purpose}  - fun.da.men.tal.ly av
2. fundamental n 1: something fundamental; esp : one of the minimum 
   constituents wit hout which a thing or a system would not be what it is 2a: 
   the prime tone of a harmonic series  2b: the root of a chord  3: the 
   harmonic component of a wave that has the lowest frequency and commo nly 
   the greatest amplitude