white silk; undyed silk
Refers to plain white silk fabric, often undyed and unadorned. This is a traditional material used in clothing and art.
This kimono is made of white silk.
Chemistry term. Refers to a fundamental substance or element, often in the context of classical or alchemical concepts. Rare in modern usage outside historical or philosophical contexts.
8 and 15 are coprime.
In ancient philosophy, all things were thought to be composed of four elements.
component; factor; element · element (computing); member (data structure)
ingredient; raw material; resource · unprocessed timber; raw timber · subject matter; topic
oxygen
hydrogen
enzyme
carbon (C)
simple; naive; unsophisticated
element; device; component · data; datum
nitrogen
chlorine (Cl)
pigment; coloring agent
aptitude; talent; makings · nature; character; temperament
pixel; picture element
nutrient
toxin; poisonous substance
simple; plain; modest
prime number
behavior; conduct
arsenic (As)
fluorine (F)
simple; plain; unadorned · modest; frugal; reserved
sōmen; fine white noodles
grounding; foundation; basic knowledge
elementary particle; particle
silicon (Si)
urea; carbamide
complex · complex number
makings; aptitude; innate quality · groundwork; foundation; base
usual; ordinary; everyday · ordinarily; normally; usually
boron (B)
Standard kanji spelling for this word.
The kanji 素 originally represents undyed silk, and by extension came to mean 'plain' or 'fundamental'. The mathematical and chemical uses are derived from this core idea of 'basic element'.