Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Primitive
1.
Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first;
“Our primitive great sire.” as,
primitive
innocence; the primitive
church. Milton.
2.
Of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity;
as, a
. primitive
style of dress3.
Original; primary; radical; not derived;
as,
. primitive
verb in grammarPrimitive axes of coordinate
(Geom.)
, that system of axes to which the points of a magnitude are first referred, with reference to a second set or system, to which they are afterward referred.
– Primitive chord
(Mus.)
, that chord, the lowest note of which is of the same literal denomination as the fundamental base of the harmony; – opposed to derivative.
Moore (Encyc. of Music).
– Primitive circle
(Spherical Projection)
, the circle cut from the sphere to be projected, by the primitive plane.
– Primitive colors
(Paint.)
, primary colors. See under
– Color
. Primitive Fathers
(Eccl.)
, the acknowledged Christian writers who flourished before the Council of Nice,
A. D.
325. Shipley.
– Primitive groove
(Anat.)
, a depression or groove in the epiblast of the primitive streak. It is not connected with the medullary groove, which appears later and in front of it.
– Primitive plane
(Spherical Projection)
, the plane upon which the projections are made, generally coinciding with some principal circle of the sphere, as the equator or a meridian.
– Primitive rocks
(Geol.)
, primary rocks. See under
– Primary
. Primitive sheath
. (Anat.)
See
– Neurilemma
. Primitive streak
or
Primitive trace
(Anat.)
, an opaque and thickened band where the mesoblast first appears in the vertebrate blastoderm.
Syn. – First; original; radical; pristine; ancient; primeval; antiquated; old-fashioned.
Prim′i-tive
,Noun.
An original or primary word; a word not derived from another; – opposed to derivative.
Webster 1828 Edition
Primitive
PRIM'ITIVE
,Adj.
1.
Pertaining to the beginning or origin; original; first; as the primitive state of Adam; primitive innocence; primitive ages; the primitive church; the primitive christian church or institutions; the primitive fathers.2.
Formal; affectedly solemn; imitating the supposed gravity of old times.3.
Original; primary; radical; not derived; as a primitive verb in grammar.Primitive rocks, in geology, rocks supposed to be first formed, being irregularly crystallized, and aggregated without a cement,
and containing no organic remains; as granite, gneiss, &c.
PRIM'ITIVE
,Noun.
Definition 2024
primitive
primitive
English
Noun
primitive (plural primitives)
- (linguistics) An original or primary word; a word not derived from another, as opposed to derivative.
- A member of a primitive society.
- A simple-minded person.
- (computing, programming) A data type that is built into the programming language, as opposed to more complex structures.
- A basic geometric shape from which more complex shapes can be constructed.
- (mathematics) A function whose derivative is a given function; an antiderivative.
Synonyms
- word: primitive word, radical, radical word
Related terms
- word: radix
- multiprimitive
- prime
Translations
word not derived from another
person from a primitive society
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simple-minded person
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computing data type
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Adjective
primitive (comparative more primitive, superlative most primitive)
- Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first.
- primitive innocence; the primitive church
- Of or pertaining to or harking back to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity.
- a primitive style of dress
- 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
- By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.
- (Can we clean up(+) this sense?) Crude, obsolete.
- primitive ideas
- (grammar) Original; primary; radical; not derived.
- a primitive verb
- 1831, Noah Webster, Rudiments of English Grammar; Being an Abridgment of the Improved Grammar of the English Language, New-Haven, p.6:
- Division of words. Words are primitive or radical, and derivative or compound.
- Of primitive words. Primitive or radical words are such as cannot be divided, or separated into parts which are significant; as man, hope, bless.
- (biology) Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.
Derived terms
Synonyms
- (grammar): radical
Antonyms
- (grammar): derivative, derived
Translations
one of the adjectival senses
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