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(chemistry) Of, relating to, or being an element (as opposed to a compound). examples
Basic, fundamental or elementary. quotations examples
Those who have escaped the dark and terrible aspects of life will find my brutality, my flash of rage in our final tragedy, easy enough to blame; for they know what is wrong as well as any, but not what is possible to tortured men. But those who have been under the shadow, who have gone down at last to elemental things, will have a wider charity.
1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 219
The pervasive emptiness and stultifying summer heat were only minor deterrents when compared with the more elemental consideration that all the banking and commercial institutions were based elsewhere, chiefly in Philadelphia and New York.
2000, Joseph J. Ellis, Founding Brothers, New York: Vintage Books, pages 79–80
Of the ancient supposed elements of earth, air, fire and water. quotations examples
Seth is the embodiment of mother-right, warfare, terror, human sacrifice; he is an elemental deity who deals in the fundamental reality of blood.
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 216
(by extension) Of, or relating to a force of nature, especially to severe atmospheric conditions. examples
plural elementals
(mysticism, fantasy) A creature (usually a spirit) that is attuned with, or composed of, one of the classical elements: air, earth, fire and water or variations of them like ice, lightning, etc. They sometimes have unique proper names and sometimes are referred to as Air, Earth, Fire, or Water. quotations examples
Incidentally, such beings may be said to have an existence of a sort upon the lower astral plane; they are elementals created by man's evil desires and unclean thoughts.
1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 115