# fundamental
## English
### Etymology

From Late Latin fundamentālis, from Latin fundamentum (“foundation”), from fundō (“to lay the foundation (of something), to found”), from fundus (“bottom”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˌfʌndəˈmɛntəl/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Hyphenation: fun‧da‧men‧tal

### Noun

fundamental (plural fundamentals)
* (generic, singular) A basic truth, elementary concept, principle, rule, or law. An individual fundamental will often serve as a building block used to form a complex idea.
* (generic, plural) A collection of essential component ideas that are often grouped together to serve as the foundational basis of a complex idea.
    one of the fundamentals of linear algebra
** 1722, John Locke, The Works of John Locke ...: With Alphabetical Tables ..., page 572:When any one offers me a compleat Catalogue of his Fundamentals, he does not unreaſonably demand me to quit mine for nothing […]
** 1928, Franklin D. Roosevelt, The Happy Warrior Alfred E. Smith‎, Houghton Mifflin, →OCLC, →OL, page 28:Personal leadership is a fundamental of successful government.
* (physics) The lowest frequency of a periodic waveform.
* (music) The lowest partial of a complex tone.

#### Translations
### Adjective

fundamental (comparative more fundamental, superlative most fundamental)
* Related to a foundation, base, or basis; serving as a foundation.
* Essential; extremely important.
    Synonym: elementary
    a fundamental truth; a fundamental axiom; a fundamental element; fundamental principle; fundamental law
    A need for belonging seems fundamental to humans.
** 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […] But the scandals kept coming, […]. A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul. Instead it offers fixes and patches.

#### Synonyms

* groundlaying
* See also Thesaurus:bare-bones

#### Derived terms

* algebraic fundamental group
* antifundamental
* bifundamental
* first fundamental form
* fundamental analysis
* fundamental constant
* fundamental force
* fundamental frequency
* fundamental group
* fundamental interaction
* fundamentalism
* fundamentalist
* fundamentalistic
* fundamentality
* fundamentally
* fundamentalness
* fundamental niche
* fundamental painting
* fundamental particle
* fundamental right
* fundamental science
* fundamental theorem
* fundamental theorem of arithmetic
* fundamental unit
* nonfundamental
* prefundamental
* unfundamental

#### Related terms

* fundament

#### Translations
### Further reading

* “fundamental”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “fundamental”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

## Danish
### Etymology

From fundament +‎ -al.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fɔndaməntaːl/, [fɔnd̥amənˈtˢæːˀl]
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

fundamental
* basic, fundamental

#### Inflection

$^1$ When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. $^2$ The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

#### Synonyms

* afgørende
* basal
* grundliggende, grundlæggende

#### Derived terms

* fundamentalisme
* fundamentalist

## Galician
### Etymology

From Latin fundāmentālis. By surface analysis, fundamento +‎ -al.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fundamenˈtal/ [fun̪.d̪a.mẽn̪ˈt̪ɑɫ]
* IPA: /fundamɛnˈtal/ [fun̪.d̪a.mɛ̃n̪ˈt̪ɑɫ]
* Rhymes: -al
* Hyphenation: fun‧da‧men‧tal

### Adjective

fundamental m or f (plural fundamentais)
* fundamental

### Further reading

* “fundamental”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

## German
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fundāmentālis. By surface analysis, Fundament +‎ -al.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fʊndamɛnˈtaːl/
* Hyphenation: fun‧da‧men‧tal
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

fundamental (strong nominative masculine singular fundamentaler, comparative fundamentaler, superlative am fundamentalsten)
* fundamental
    Synonym: grundlegend

#### Derived terms

* Fundamentalismus, Fundamentalist

#### Related terms

* Fundamentalerkenntnis, Fundamentalentscheidung, Fundamentalgesetz, Fundamentalsatz

### Further reading

* “fundamental” in Duden online
* “fundamental” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

## Indonesian
### Etymology

Borrowed from English fundamental, from Late Latin fundamentālis, from Latin fundamentum (“foundation”), from fundō (“to lay the foundation (of something), to found”), from fundus (“bottom”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Indonesian) IPA: /fundaˈmental/ [fun.daˈmen.t̪al]
* Rhymes: -ental
* Syllabification: fun‧da‧men‧tal

### Adjective

fundamental
* fundamental

### Further reading

* “fundamental” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Etymology

From Latin fundamentalis.

### Adjective

fundamental (masculine and feminine fundamental, neuter fundamentalt, definite singular and plural fundamentale)
* fundamental, basic

#### Related terms

* fundament

### References

* “fundamental” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
* “fundamental” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Etymology

From Latin fundamentalis.

### Adjective

fundamental (neuter fundamentalt, definite singular and plural fundamentale)
* fundamental, basic

#### Related terms

* fundament

### References

* “fundamental” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fundāmentālis.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /fũ.da.mẽˈtaw/ [fũ.da.mẽˈtaʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /fũ.dɐ.mẽˈtal/ [fũ.dɐ.mẽˈtaɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /fũ.dɐ.mẽˈtal/ [fũ.dɐ.mẽˈtaɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /fũ.dɐ.mẽˈta.li/
* Hyphenation: fun‧da‧men‧tal

### Adjective

fundamental m or f (plural fundamentais)
* fundamental; essential (pertaining to the basic part or notion of something)
    Synonyms: essencial, básico

#### Derived terms

* fundamentalismo
* fundamentalista
* fundamentalmente

### Further reading

* “fundamental”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
* “fundamental”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French fondamental, from Latin fundamentalis. Equivalent to fundament +‎ -al.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˌfun.da.menˈtal/

### Adjective

fundamental m or n (feminine singular fundamentală, masculine plural fundamentali, feminine and neuter plural fundamentale)
* fundamental

#### Related terms

* fundament
* fundamenta
* fundamentabil
* fundamentare
* fundamentat

### References

* fundamental in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin fundāmentālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fundamenˈtal/ [fũn̪.d̪a.mẽn̪ˈt̪al]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: fun‧da‧men‧tal

### Adjective

fundamental m or f (masculine and feminine plural fundamentales)
* fundamental

#### Derived terms

* derecho fundamental
* fundamentalismo
* fundamentalista
* fundamentalmente
* interacción fundamental
* teorema fundamental

#### Related terms

* fundamentar
* fundamento
* fundar

### Further reading

* “fundamental”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swedish
### Adjective

fundamental (not comparable)
* fundamental

#### Declension

$^1$ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. $^2$ Dated or archaic. $^3$ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

### References

* fundamental in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* fundamental in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* fundamental in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)