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
3 June 2025
(noun) (law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business; “he is the owner of a chain of restaurants”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
