PRIMITIVE

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

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Etymology

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.

(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.

Synonyms

• word: primitive word, radical, radical word

Adjective

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

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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

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