元素
げんそ · genso · JLPT N1 · noun
component
🧪 元 = origin/base + 素 = plain material: the basic stuff everything is made of
元 means origin or base, and 素 means plain material or raw substance. Together they name the basic substances that all matter is built from, like the entries in the periodic table.
元 — 二 (two) + 兒 variant 儿 (legs/person)
元 originally depicted a person with the head emphasized on top, meaning 'head' or 'origin'. From this came the extended senses of 'first', 'beginning', and 'primary'. It was later borrowed as the name of the Yuan dynasty and the modern Chinese currency unit.
素 — silk 糸 + sheng 𠂹 (hanging threads)
Originally depicted raw, undyed silk hanging to dry, with the silk radical 糸 below and strands above. From this came the meaning 'plain, unadorned, white,' then extended to 'basic element' or 'plain/simple' in general. The 'vegetarian' sense developed later from the idea of plain, unembellished food.