a part of a mechanical or electrical system: hi-fi components.
Physics. the projection of a vector quantity, as force or velocity, along an axis.
Physical Chemistry. one of the set of the minimum number of chemical constituents by which every phase of a given system can be described.
Mathematics.
a connected subset of a set, not contained in any other connected subset of the set.
a coordinate of a vector.
Linguistics.
one of the major subdivisions of a generative grammar: base component; transformational component; semantic component; phonological component.Compare level (def. 16).
a feature determined by componential analysis.
adjective
being or serving as an element (in something larger); composing; constituent: the component parts of a computer system.
Origin of component
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin compōnent- (stem of compōnēns, present participle of compōnere “to put together”), equivalent to com- com- + pōn(ere) “to put” + -ent- -ent
The Volcker Rule, a component of the far-reaching Dodd-Frank law, required large banks to cut back on proprietary trading.
The Incredible 'Wussiness' Of The Fed Vs Goldman Sachs—Caught On Tape|Daniel Gross|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Heck, all sports are basically weird activities if you take the time to actually examine the component parts.
How to Stomach a Hot Dog Eating Contest|Robert Silverman|July 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We fight the sex industry in general, not its component parts.
Femen's Topless Sextremists Invade the US|Lizzie Crocker|February 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But among the most effective fighters are those affiliated with the Nusra Front, a component of al Qaeda.
Up to Speed: Five Things You Need to Know on Syria|Christopher Dickey|September 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This factor seems to jibe with our overall rankings more than any other component.
Hot U.S. Cities That Offer Both Jobs and Culture Are Mostly Southern and Modest Sized|Joel Kotkin, Wendell Cox|July 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The first component part of the name of Essarhaddon, is the monogram for the god Assur.
Discoveries among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon|Austen H. Layard
Each of these component parts bears witness to a succession of past periods.
Omphalos|Philip Henry Gosse
Avowe is all one word, though its component parts were often written apart.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
We now proceed to give a detailed notice of some of the component parts of the woodland scenery, beginning with the single tree.
Woodland Gleanings|Charles Tilt
There is a theory that we come back to life every so often, that some component part of us doesn't die.
Helen Grant's Schooldays|Amanda M. Douglas
British Dictionary definitions for component
component
/ (kəmˈpəʊnənt) /
noun
a constituent part or aspect of something more complexa component of a car
Also called: elementany electrical device, such as a resistor, that has distinct electrical characteristics and that may be connected to other electrical devices to form a circuit
maths
one of a set of two or more vectors whose resultant is a given vector
the projection of this given vector onto a specified line
one of the minimum number of chemically distinct constituents necessary to describe fully the composition of each phase in a systemSee phase rule
adjective
forming or functioning as a part or aspect; constituent
Derived forms of component
componential (ˌkɒmpəˈnɛnʃəl), adjective
Word Origin for component
C17: from Latin compōnere to put together, from pōnere to place, put