primitive
pronunciation
How to pronounce primitive in British English:
UK [ˈprɪmətɪv]
How to pronounce primitive in American English:
US [ˈprɪmətɪv]
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- Noun:
- a person who belongs to early stage of civilization
- a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived
- a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms
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- Adjective:
- belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness
- little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type
- used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies
- of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style
Word Origin
- primitive (adj.)
- late 14c., "of an original cause; of a thing from which something is derived; not secondary" (a sense now associated with primary), from Old French primitif "very first, original" (14c.) and directly from Latin primitivus "first or earliest of its kind," from primitus "at first," from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)). Meaning "of or belonging to the first age" is from early 15c. Meaning "having the style of an early or ancient time" is from 1680s. In Christian sense of "adhering to the qualities of the early Church" it is recorded from 1680s. Of untrained artists from 1942. Related: Primitively.
- primitive (n.)
- c. 1400, "original ancestor," from Latin primitivus (see primitive (adj.)). Meaning "aboriginal person in a land visited by Europeans" is from 1779, hence the sense "uncivilized person."
Synonym
Example
- 1. But some primitive marine plants are breaking the rules .
- 2. But one aim of science is to minimize such things , to reduce the number of primitive concepts or primitive explanations .
- 3. Thousands of migrant workers live in those villages , often in primitive conditions .
- 4. Estonian mythology is based on primitive animistic beliefs and is closely related to finnish mythology .
- 5. As a monetary system , it looks primitive .