rudiment

noun

1. (in-plural, often)A fundamental principle or skill, especially in a field of learning.

   “We'll be learning the rudiments of thermodynamics next week.”

   “This boy is forest-born, / And hath been tutored in the rudiments / Of many desperate studies.”

   “The very emphasis on reading readiness and on the methods employed to teach children the rudiments of reading has meant that the other, the higher, levels of reading have tended to be slighted.”

2. (in-plural, often)A form that lacks full or complex development.

   “I have the rudiments of an escape plan.”

   “But I will bring thee where thou soon shalt quit / Those rudiments, and see before thine eyes / The monarchies of the earth.”

   “The single leaf is the rudiment of beauty in landscape.”

3. A body part that no longer has a function
4. In percussion, one of a selection of basic drum patterns learned as an exercise.

   “Show me your rudiments.”

verb

1. (transitive)To ground; to settle in first principles.