n. 1. a point, line, plane or part of a geometric figure. 2. also called member. one of the objects or numbers that together constitute a set or class; if there is a structure imposed on the set, it may be a group, ring, field, etc. The p-elements of a group are those of order p^α, where p is a prime, and α is any positive integer. 3. any of the terms in the array constituting a determinant or matrix.
4a. any one of the rectangles summed in an integral and represented by the expression following the integral sign; in f(x) dx is an element of area; originally, an integral was conceived of as the limit of an infinite sum of infinitesimal elements. See definite integral.
b. (Continuum mechanics) in particular, the small quantity of a body surrounding the given point; formally the particle of a body at a given point.