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1. A statement of fundamental facts or principles
   - basics, elements
    
2. The elementary stages of any subject (usually plural)
   "he mastered only the rudiments of geometry";
   - first principles, alphabet, elements

1. The remains of a body part that was functional at an earlier stage of life
   "Meckel's diverticulum is the rudiment of the embryonic yolk sac"

Type of: basic principle, basics, bedrock, body part, fact, fundamental principle, fundamentals

Encyclopedia: Rudiments