fundament
/ˈfʌndəm(ə)nt
/noun
1The foundation or basis of something.Most of these nations base the fundaments of their society on their religion, and try to live by it every day....
- All of the above but only because they make up so much of the fundament (almost all of the fundament, really) of Western culture.
- Lippi is better at communicating his ideas - he's trying to bring the fundaments of his success at Juventus to this job.
2 formal or humorous A person’s buttocks or anus.In fact, the administration (who collectively have their head so far up their fundament that they can tell if they're getting cavities or not) doesn't even deign to tell us the results, normally....
- About which I said, some of what's coming out these days, especially from a bunch of talented but self-conscious young American writers, can disappear up its own fundament.
- In particular, when called upon to explain the relevance of the reference, explain that you are not about to spoon-feed your opponent and advise him to get off his flaccid fundament and do some independent reading.
Origin
Middle English (also denoting the base of a building, or the founding of a building or institution): from Old French fondement, from Latin fundamentum, from fundare 'to found'.