elementum

Etymology
. Perhaps ultimately from L M N, first three letters of the second half of the Canaanite alphabet, recited by ancient scribes when learning it (in sense compare English ). This idea has been criticized though due to the absence of any evidence for use of a half-split in the Latin alphabet itself and the lack of evidence for the use of "el", "em", and "en" as letter names in early Latin. An alternative related idea is that elementum was borrowed into Latin from a Semitic term (probably via Egyptian) halaḥama, which derives from the old South Semitic initial character sequence, h-l-ḥ-m..., though this presents some difficulties as well.

Alternatively could be a neologism to translate the equivalent Greek term (introduced in the sense of "element" by Plato), which, like the Latin elementum, has the dual meaning of "element" and "letter". This neologism would be modelled on and alluding to, modified to be a mnemonic for the sequence of letters "L M N"; this would make it related to , , both from.

A further suggestion is that the word may have been derived from an unattested *elepantum for a letter made of ivory (i.e., a toy letter for the purpose of learning to read), an old loanword from or its accusative. This could explain the otherwise irregular -e- in the second syllable.

Noun

 * 1)  one of four elements that composed the world.
 * 2) basic principle, rudiment
 * 3)  the alphabet

Usage notes
Most often used in the plural to refer collectively to the components.