primitive
(adjective) used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies; “primitive societies”
archaic, primitive
(adjective) little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type; “archaic forms of life”; “primitive mammals”; “the okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe”
crude, primitive, rude
(adjective) belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness; “the crude weapons and rude agricultural implements of early man”; “primitive movies of the 1890s”; “primitive living conditions in the Appalachian mountains”
primitive, naive
(adjective) of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style; “primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking”
primitive
(noun) a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms; “‘pick’ is the primitive from which ‘picket’ is derived”
primitive
(noun) a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived
primitive, primitive person
(noun) a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization
Source: WordNet® 3.1
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.
(computing, programming) Any of the simplest elements (instructions, statements, etc.) available in a programming language.
A basic geometric shape from which more complex shapes can be constructed.
(mathematics) A function whose derivative is a given function; an antiderivative.
• word: primitive word, radical, radical word
primitive (comparative more primitive, superlative most primitive)
Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first.
Of or pertaining to or harking back to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity.
Synonym: backwards
Crude, obsolete.
(grammar) Original; primary; radical; not derived.
Synonym: radical
Antonyms: derivative, derived
(biology) Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.
(maths) Not derived from another of the same type
Synonym: imprimitive
(linguistics, dated) most recent common ancestor (often hypothetical) of
Synonym: proto-
Source: Wiktionary
Prim"i*tive, a. Etym: [L. primitivus, fr. primus the first: cf. F. primitif. See Prime, a.]
1. Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church. "Our primitive great sire." Milton.
2. Of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress.
3. Original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar. Primitive axes of coördinate (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 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, n.
Definition: An original or primary word; a word not derived from another; - - opposed to derivative.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 February 2025
(noun) an advantageous purchase; “she got a bargain at the auction”; “the stock was a real buy at that price”
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.
