Word Meanings - PRIMITIVE - Book Publishers vocabulary database

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;

Additional info about word: PRIMITIVE

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 , 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 , that chord, the lowest note of which is of the same literal denomination as the fundamental base of the harmony; -- opposed to derivative. Moore . -- Primitive circle , the circle cut from the sphere to be projected, by the primitive plane. -- Primitive colors , primary colors. See under Color. -- Primitive Fathers , the acknowledged Christian writers who flourished before the Council of Nice, A. D. 325. Shipley. -- Primitive groove , 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 , 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 , primary rocks. See under Primary. -- Primitive sheath. See Neurilemma. -- Primitive streak or trace , an opaque and thickened band where the mesoblast first appears in the vertebrate blastoderm. Syn. -- First; original; radical; pristine; ancient; primeval; antiquated; old-fashioned.

Possible synonyms: (Same meaning words of PRIMITIVE)

• First
• Leading
• primary
• pristine
• original
• foremost
• primitive
• principal
• primeval
• highest
• chief
• earliest
• Immemorial
• Primitive
• ancient
• archaic
• primordial
• timehonored
• remote
• Rustic
• Rural
• agricultural
• bucolic
• nomadic
• sylvan
• verdant
• pastoral
• rude
• awkward
• unpolished
• clownish
• clumsy
• rough
• coarse
• plain
• unsophisticated
• simple
• artless

Related words: (words related to PRIMITIVE)

• ROUGHING-IN
  The first coat of plaster laid on brick; also, the process of applying it.
• PRINCIPALNESS
  The quality of being principal.
• CHIEFLESS
  Without a chief or leader.
• ROUGHT
  imp. of Reach.
• FOREMOST
  First in time or place; most advanced; chief in rank or dignity; as, the foremost troops of an army. THat struck the foremost man of all this world. Shak. (more info) superl. of forma first, which is a superl. fr. fore fore; cf. Goth. frumist,
• PRIMORDIALLY
  At the beginning; under the first order of things; originally.
• ROUGHHEWN
  1. Hewn coarsely without smoothing; unfinished; not polished. 2. Of coarse manners; rude; uncultivated; rough-grained. "A roughhewn seaman." Bacon.
• RURALITY
  1. The quality or state of being rural. 2. A rural place. "Leafy ruralities." Carlyle.
• PRINCIPALITY
  preëminence, excellence: cf. F. principalité, principauté. See 1. Sovereignty; supreme power; hence, superiority; predominance; high, or the highest, station. Sir P. Sidney. Your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.
• ROUGHLEG
  Any one of several species of large hawks of the genus Archibuteo, having the legs feathered to the toes. Called also rough- legged hawk, and rough-legged buzzard. Note: The best known species is Archibuteo lagopus of Northern Europe,
• LEADING EDGE
  same as Advancing edge, above.
• FIRST
  Sw. & Dan. förste, OHG. furist, G. fürst prince; a superlatiye form 1. Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest; as, the first day of a month; the first year of a reign. 2. Foremost; in front of, or in advance of,
• ROUGHINGS
  Rowen.
• PRIMITIVENESS
  The quality or state of being primitive; conformity to primitive style or practice.
• PRIMEVALLY
  In a primeval manner; in or from the earliest times; originally. Darwin.
• ROUGHSHOD
  Shod with shoes armed with points or calks; as, a roughshod horse. To ride roughshod, to pursue a course regardless of the pain or distress it may cause others.
• AWKWARD SQUAD
  A squad of inapt recruits assembled for special drill.
• PLAINTIVE
  1. Repining; complaining; lamenting. Dryden. 2. Expressive of sorrow or melancholy; mournful; sad. "The most plaintive ditty." Landor. -- Plain"tive*ly, adv. -- Plain"tive*ness, n.
• COARSE
  was anciently written course, or cours, it may be an abbreviation of of course, in the common manner of proceeding, common, and hence, homely, made for common domestic use, plain, rude, rough, gross, e. 1. Large in bulk, or composed of large parts
• RUSTICAL
  Rustic. "Rustical society." Thackeray. -- Rus"tic*al*ly, adv. -- Rus"tic*al*ness, n.
• STERNFOREMOST
  With the stern, instead of the bow, in advance; hence, figuratively, in an awkward, blundering manner. A fatal genius for going sternforemost. Lowell.
• EQUICRURAL
  Having equal legs or sides; isosceles. "Equicrural triangles." Sir T. Browne.
• POT LEAD
  Graphite, or black lead, often used on the bottoms of racing vessels to diminish friction.
• ABORIGINALLY
  Primarily.
• COUNTERPLEAD
  To plead the contrary of; to plead against; to deny.
• KERCHIEF
  couvrechef, F. couvrechef, a head covering, fr. couvrir to cover + 1. A square of fine linen worn by women as a covering for the head; hence, anything similar in form or material, worn for ornament on other parts of the person; -- mostly used in
• PLEADINGS
  The mutual pleas and replies of the plaintiff and defendant, or written statements of the parties in support of their claims, proceeding from the declaration of the plaintiff, until issue is joined, and the question made to rest on some