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