a basic truth or law or assumption; "the principles of democracy"
a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system; "the principle of the conservation of mass"; "the principle of jet propulsion"; "the right-hand rule for inductive fields"
a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct; "their principles of composition characterized all their works"
a rule or standard especially of good behavior; "a man of principle"; "he will not violate his principles"
the most favorable environment for a plant or animal; "water is the element of fishes"
a straight line that generates a cylinder or cone
the situation in which you are happiest and most effective; "in your element"
one of four substances thought in ancient and medieval cosmology to constitute the physical universe; "the alchemists believed that there were four elements"
the words of something written; "there were more than a thousand words of text"; "they handed out the printed text of the mayor's speech"; "he wants to reconstruct the original text"
the main body of a written work (as distinct from illustrations or footnotes etc.); "pictures made the text easier to understand"
a passage from the Bible that is used as the subject of a sermon; "the preacher chose a text from Psalms to introduce his sermon"