51³Ō¹Ļ

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primitive

[prim-i-tiv]

adjective

  1. being the first or earliest of the kind or in existence, especially in an early age of the world.

    primitive forms of life.

    Synonyms: , , , , , ,
  2. early in the history of the world or of humankind.

    Synonyms: , , , , , ,
  3. characteristic of early ages or of an early state of human development.

    primitive toolmaking.

  4. Anthropology.Ģż(no longer in technical use) of or relating to a preliterate or tribal people having cultural or physical similarities with their early ancestors.

  5. unaffected or little affected by civilizing influences; uncivilized.

    primitive passions.

  6. being in its earliest period; early.

    the primitive phase of the history of a town.

  7. old-fashioned.

    primitive ideas and habits.

  8. simple; unsophisticated.

    a primitive farm implement.

  9. crude; unrefined.

    primitive living conditions.

  10. Linguistics.Ģż

    1. of or relating to a form from which a word or other linguistic form is derived; not derivative; original or radical.

    2. of or relating to a protolanguage.

    3. of or relating to a linguistic prime.

  11. primary, as distinguished from secondary.

  12. Biology.Ģż

    1. rudimentary; primordial.

    2. noting species, varieties, etc., only slightly evolved from early antecedent types.

    3. of early formation and temporary, as a part that subsequently disappears.



noun

  1. someone or something primitive.

  2. Fine Arts.Ģż

    1. an artist of a preliterate culture.

    2. a naive or unschooled artist.

    3. an artist belonging to the early stage in the development of a style.

    4. a work of art by a primitive artist.

  3. Mathematics.Ģż

    1. a geometric or algebraic form or expression from which another is derived.

    2. a function of which the derivative is a given function.

  4. Linguistics.Ģżthe form from which a given word or other linguistic form has been derived, by either morphological or historical processes, as take in undertake.

primitive

/ ˈ±č°łÉŖ³¾ÉŖ³ŁÉŖ±¹ /

adjective

  1. of or belonging to the first or beginning; original

  2. characteristic of an early state, esp in being crude or uncivilized

    a primitive dwelling

  3. anthropol denoting or relating to a preliterate and nonindustrial social system

  4. biology

    1. of, relating to, or resembling an early stage in the evolutionary development of a particular group of organisms

      primitive amphibians

    2. another word for primordial

  5. showing the characteristics of primitive painters; untrained, childlike, or naive

  6. geology pertaining to magmas that have experienced only small degrees of fractional crystallization or crystal contamination

  7. obsoleteĢżof, relating to, or denoting rocks formed in or before the Palaeozoic era

  8. obsoleteĢżdenoting a word from which another word is derived, as for example hope, from which hopeless is derived

  9. Protestant theol of, relating to, or associated with a minority group that breaks away from a sect, denomination, or Church in order to return to what is regarded as the original simplicity of the Gospels

ā€œCollins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridgedā€ 2012 Digital Edition Ā© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 Ā© HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a primitive person or thing

    1. an artist whose work does not conform to traditional, academic, or avant-garde standards of Western painting, such as a painter from an African or Oceanic civilization

    2. a painter of the pre-Renaissance era in European painting

    3. Also called (for senses 11a, 11c): naive.Ģża painter of any era whose work appears childlike or untrained

  2. a work by such an artist

  3. a word or concept from which another word or concept is derived

  4. maths a curve, function, or other form from which another is derived

ā€œCollins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridgedā€ 2012 Digital Edition Ā© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 Ā© HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

primitive

  1. Relating to an early or original stage.

  2. Having evolved very little from an early type. Lampreys and sturgeon are primitive fishes.

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Other 51³Ō¹Ļ Forms

  • primitively adverb
  • primitiveness noun
  • primitivity noun
  • nonprimitive adjective
  • nonprimitively adverb
  • nonprimitiveness noun
  • preprimitive adjective
  • pseudoprimitive adjective
  • semiprimitive adjective
  • unprimitive adjective
  • unprimitively adverb
  • unprimitiveness noun
  • ˈ±č°ł¾±³¾¾±³Ł¾±±¹±š²Ō±š²õ²õ noun
  • ˈ±č°ł¾±³¾¾±³Ł¾±±¹±š±ō²ā adverb
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51³Ō¹Ļ History and Origins

Origin of primitive1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (noun and adjective) (from Middle French primitif ), from Latin ±č°łÄ«³¾¾±³ŁÄ«±¹³Ü²õ ā€œfirst of its kind.ā€ See prime, -itive
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51³Ō¹Ļ History and Origins

Origin of primitive1

C14: from Latin ±č°łÄ«³¾¾±³ŁÄ«±¹³Ü²õ earliest of its kind, primitive, from ±č°łÄ«³¾³Ü²õ first
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Synonym Study

See prime.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Those primitive sweethearts couldn’t imagine the need for a shepherd to steer every step of their relationship.

From

The brutal conflict between the Washington Liberation Front and the primitive religious cult the Seraphites makes Ellie’s mission all the more dangerous and complex — and the show’s imagery more gruesome.

From

Shot at the San Diego Zoo, the primitive video clip showed Jawed Karim, the platform’s co-founder, complimenting the elephants in the frame behind him.

From

They can be primitive or sophisticated or they can be complicated or obscure.

From

Using multimillion-dollar munitions to strike primitive drug laboratories would be a laughable waste of resources, Vigil said.

From

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primiparaPrimitive Baptist