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Literary notes about rudiments (AI summary)

The word “rudiments” in literature is often employed to signify the basic or preliminary components of a subject, whether it be language, science, or theory. Authors have used the term both in a literal sense—to denote the elemental parts of physical or natural phenomena, as seen in descriptions of embryology or insect anatomy ([1], [2])—and in a more abstract, educational context, where it represents the foundational skills or principles upon which further expertise is built ([3], [4], [5]). Moreover, "rudiments" is sometimes used metaphorically to critique or highlight the insufficiency of one’s abilities or the undeveloped nature of a concept, as when it refers to the beginnings of mental discipline, social customs, or military techniques ([6], [7], [8]). This dual usage underscores the term’s versatility in evoking both the literal beginnings of structure and the metaphorical origins of competence and knowledge.
  1. In the midst of the stamens is visible a small, hairy body of 5 lobules which are the rudiments of the ovaries.
    — from The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by T. H. Pardo de Tavera
  2. The petals in the imperfect flowers almost always consist of mere rudiments, and the pollen-grains are reduced in diameter.
    — from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin
  3. This grammar is intended for students who have already received instruction in the rudiments.
    — from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge
  4. I taught him the rudiments of English; gave him ideas of counting; even made the thing read the alphabet.
    — from The island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells
  5. “Nevertheless I think it is my duty to see that you are properly instructed in at least the rudiments of music.
    — from Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
  6. He lacks the rudiments of mental discipline.
    — from How We Think by John Dewey
  7. He don’t amount to shucks, as a magician; knows some of the old common tricks, but has never got beyond the rudiments, and never will.
    — from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
  8. Sword exercise, bayonet exercise, boxing and fencing are also taught, but only the rudiments.
    — from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson

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