elementary

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective easy and not involved or complicated
  2. adjective of or pertaining to or characteristic of elementary school or elementary education
  3. adjective of or being the essential or basic part

Etymology

From Middle English elementare, from Latin elementārius (“elementary”), from elementum (“one of the four elements of antiquity; fundamentals”) + -ārius (adjective-forming suffix). Cognate with French élémentaire. By surface analysis, element + -ary.

In classic literature

Synonyms

simple, uncomplicated, unproblematic

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