In Greek philosophy, the fundamental substance or principle from which all things are believed to originate.
From Greek 'arche,' meaning beginning or first principle. Used by ancient Greek philosophers like Thales and Anaximander to describe what they thought the basic building block of reality was (water, air, etc.).
The ancient Greeks asked 'what is everything made of?' and their guesses—water, air, fire, atoms—were actually the birth of science itself; 'arche' is the philosophical equivalent of today's search for fundamental particles.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.