prime (prīm)

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[Middle English, first in occurrence, from Old French feminine of prin, from Latin prīmus, N., sense 7, from Middle English, from Old English prīm, from Late Latin prīma (hōra), first (hour), from Latin feminine of prīmus.]

adjective 

1. First in excellence, quality, or value. See Usage Note at: perfect
2. First in degree or rank; chief. See synonyms at chief
3. First or early in time, order, or sequence; original.
4. Of the highest U.S. government grade of meat.
5. Mathematics Of, relating to, or being a prime number.

noun 

1. The earliest hours of the day; dawn.
2. The first season of the year; spring.
3. The age of ideal physical perfection and intellectual vigor.
4. The period or phase of ideal or peak condition. See synonyms at bloom¹
5. The first position of thrust and parry in fencing.
6. A mark (′) appended above and to the right of a character, especially:
   1. One used to distinguish different values of the same variable in a mathematical expression.
   2. One used to represent a unit of measurement, such as feet or minutes in latitude and longitude.
7. Ecclesiastical
   1. The second of the seven canonical hours. No longer in liturgical use.
   2. The time appointed for this service, the first hour of the day or 6 a.m.
8. Mathematics A prime number.
9. A prime rate.
10. See primitive

verb: primed, prim·ing, primes. 

transitive verb 

1. To make ready; prepare: guard dogs primed for attack.
2. To prepare (a gun or mine) for firing by inserting a charge of gunpowder or a primer.
3. To prepare for operation, as by pouring water into a pump or gasoline into a carburetor.
4. To prepare (a surface) for painting by covering with size, primer, or an undercoat.
5. To inform or instruct beforehand; coach.

intransitive verb 

To become prepared for future action or operation.

idioms

prime the pump

To encourage the growth or action of something.

derivatives

primély

adverb

priméness

noun

prim·i·tive (prĭḿĭ-tĭv)

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[Middle English, from Old French primitif, primitive, from Latin prīmitīvus, from prīmitus, at first, from prīmus, first.]

adjective 

1. Not derived from something else; primary or basic.
2. 1. Of or relating to an earliest or original stage or state; primeval.
   2. Being little evolved from an early ancestral type.
3. Characterized by simplicity or crudity; unsophisticated: primitive weapons. See synonyms at rude
4. Anthropology Of or relating to a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially one that is characterized by a low level of economic complexity: primitive societies.
5. Linguistics
   1. Serving as the basis for derived or inflected forms: is the primitive word from which is derived.
   2. Being a protolanguage: primitive Germanic.
6. Relating or belonging to forces of nature; elemental: primitive passions.
7. 1. Of or created by an artist without formal training; simple or naive in style.
   2. Of or relating to the work of an artist from a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially a culture that is characterized by a low level of economic complexity.
8. Of or relating to late medieval or pre-Renaissance European painters or sculptors.
9. Biology Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.

noun 

1. Anthropology A person belonging to a nonindustrial, often tribal society, especially a society characterized by a low level of economic complexity.
2. An unsophisticated person.
3. One that is at a low or early stage of development.
4. 1. One belonging to an early stage in the development of an artistic trend, especially a painter of the pre-Renaissance period.
   2. An artist having or affecting a simple, direct, unschooled style, as of painting.
   3. A self-taught artist.
   4. A work of art created by a primitive artist.
5. Linguistics
   1. A word or word element from which another word is derived by morphological or historical processes or from which inflected forms are derived.
   2. A basic and indivisible unit of linguistic analysis. Also called prime
6. Mathematics An algebraic or geometric expression from which another expression is derived.
7. Computer Science A basic or fundamental unit of machine instruction or translation.

derivatives

priḿi·tive·ly

adverb

priḿi·tive·ness

noun