Rudimentary means basic and undeveloped. A rudimentary grasp, rudimentary shelter, rudimentary tools.
It says the thing exists but barely, which makes it faint praise and faint criticism at once. In biology it describes a part that has never fully developed, as against a vestigial one, which has shrunk from something that was once complete.
1adjectiverudimentaryBasic and undeveloped.
“I only have a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, just enough to order food.”
rudimentary is a quality.
From rudiment, from Latin rudimentum, a first attempt, from rudis, rough or unformed.
la-cla
rudīmentum — first attempt; beginning
New Latin
rudīmentārius
English, today
rudimentary
From rudiment + -ary. From rudiment + ary, perhaps after New Latin rudīmentārius, from la-cla rudīmentum (“first attempt; beginning”) + -ārius. Compare French rudimentaire.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA