Biologybeing the first or earliest of the kind or in existence, esp. in an early age of the world:primitive forms of life.
Biologyearly in the history of the world or of humankind.
Anthropologycharacteristic of early ages or of an early state of human development:primitive toolmaking.
Physical Anthropology, Anthropology[Anthropol.]of or pertaining to a preliterate or tribal people having cultural or physical similarities with their early ancestors: no longer in technical use.
unaffected or little affected by civilizing influences; uncivilized; savage:primitive passions.
being in its earliest period; early:the primitive phase of the history of a town.
of or pertaining to a form from which a word or other linguistic form is derived; not derivative; original or radical.
of or pertaining to a protolanguage.
of or pertaining to a linguistic prime.
primary, as distinguished from secondary.
Biology
rudimentary; primordial.
noting species, varieties, etc., only slightly evolved from early antecedent types.
of early formation and temporary, as a part that subsequently disappears.
n.
someone or something primitive.
Fine Art
an artist of a preliterate culture.
a naive or unschooled artist.
an artist belonging to the early stage in the development of a style.
a work of art by a primitive artist.
[Math.]
Mathematicsa geometric or algebraic form or expression from which another is derived.
Mathematicsa function of which the derivative is a given function.
Linguisticsthe form from which a given word or other linguistic form has been derived, by either morphological or historical processes, as take in undertake.
Latin prīmitīvus first of its kind. See prime, -itive
Middle French primitif )
Middle English (noun, nominal and adjective, adjectival) (1350–1400
prim′i•tive•ly, adv. prim′i•tive•ness, prim′i•tiv′i•ty, n.
1, 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged prehistoric, primal, primary, primordial, original, aboriginal, antediluvian, pristine. See prime.
of or belonging to the first or beginning; original
characteristic of an early state, esp in being crude or uncivilized: a primitive dwelling
denoting or relating to a preliterate and nonindustrial social system
of, relating to, or resembling an early stage in the evolutionary development of a particular group of organisms: primitive amphibians
another word forprimordial3
showing the characteristics of primitive painters; untrained, childlike, or naive
of, relating to, or denoting rocks formed in or before the Palaeozoic era
denoting a word from which another word is derived, as for example hope, from which hopeless is derived
of, relating to, or associated with a minority group that breaks away from a sect, denomination, or Church in order to return to what is regarded as the original simplicity of the Gospels
a primitive person or thing
an artist whose work does not conform to traditional, academic, or avant-garde standards of Western painting, such as a painter from an African or Oceanic civilization
a painter of the pre-Renaissance era in European painting
a painter of any era whose work appears childlike or untrained Also called (for senses 11a, 11c):naive
a work by such an artist
a word or concept from which another word or concept is derived
a curve, function, or other form from which another is derived
Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin prīmitīvus earliest of its kind, primitive, from prīmus firstˈprimitivelyˈprimitiveness
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