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component

com·po·nent [ kəm pṓnənt ]


noun  (plural com·po·nents)
Definition:
 
1. part: a part of something, usually of something bigger
a manufacturer of vehicle components
one of several major components of our research

2. electricity electric part: a device such as a resistor or transistor that is part of an electronic circuit

3. mathematics vector: one of a set of vectors whose combination resultant is another vector

4. chemistry constituent substance: one of the substances necessary to describe each phase of a chemical system



adjective 
Definition:
 
forming part: forming part of a whole

[Mid-16th century. < Latin component-, present participle of componere "put together" < ponere "to place"]

com·po·nen·tial [ kòmpə nénsh'l ] adjective
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