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Definition of primal - 5 dictionary results

pri⋅mal

  [prahy-muhl]
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–adjective
1. first; original; primeval: primal eras before the appearance of life on earth.
2. of first importance; fundamental: the primal resources of a nation.
Origin:
1535–45; < ML prīmālis. See prime, -al 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pri·mal   (prī'məl)   
adj.  
  1. Being first in time; original; primeval.
  2. Of first importance; primary.

[Medieval Latin prīmālis, from Latin prīmus, first; see per1 in Indo-European roots.]
pri·mal'i·ty (-māl'ĭ-tē) n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Primal

Pri"mal\, a. [LL. primalis, fr. L. primus the first. See Prime, a.] First; primary; original; chief.

It hath the primal eldest curse upon it. --Shak.

The primal duties shine aloft like stars. --Wordsworth.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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primal 
1602, "belonging to the earliest age," from M.L. primalis "primary" (1485), from L. primus "first" (see prime (adj.)). Psychological sense, in ref. to Freud's theory of behaviors springing from the earliest stage of emotional development, is attested from 1918.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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primal pri·mal (prī'məl)
adj.

  1. Being first in time; original.
  2. Of first or central importance; primary.
pri·mal'i·ty (-māl'ĭ-tē) n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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