primitive definition | Dictionary.com

prim⋅i⋅tive

[prim-i-tiv]

–adjective

1.	being the first or earliest of the kind or in existence, esp. in an early age of the world: primitive forms of life.

2.	early in the history of the world or of humankind.

3.	characteristic of early ages or of an early state of human development: primitive toolmaking.

4.	Anthropology. of or pertaining to a preliterate or tribal people having cultural or physical similarities with their early ancestors: no longer in technical use.

5.	unaffected or little affected by civilizing influences; uncivilized; savage: primitive passions.

6.	being in its earliest period; early: the primitive phase of the history of a town.

7.	old-fashioned: primitive ideas and habits.

8.	simple; unsophisticated: a primitive farm implement.

9.	crude; unrefined: primitive living conditions.

10.

Linguistics.

a.	of or pertaining to a form from which a word or other linguistic form is derived; not derivative; original or radical.

b.	of or pertaining to a protolanguage.

c.	of or pertaining to a linguistic prime.

11.	primary, as distinguished from secondary.

12.

Biology.

a.	rudimentary; primordial.

b.	noting species, varieties, etc., only slightly evolved from early antecedent types.

c.	of early formation and temporary, as a part that subsequently disappears.

–noun

13.	someone or something primitive.

14.

Fine Arts.

a.	an artist of a preliterate culture.

b.	a naive or unschooled artist.

c.	an artist belonging to the early stage in the development of a style.

d.	a work of art by a primitive artist.

15.

Mathematics.

a.	a geometric or algebraic form or expression from which another is derived.

b.	a function of which the derivative is a given function.

16.	Linguistics. the form from which a given word or other linguistic form has been derived, by either morphological or historical processes, as take in undertake.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME (n. and adj.) (< MF primitif) < L prīmitīvus first of its kind. See prime, -itive

Related forms:

prim⋅i⋅tive⋅ly, adverb

prim⋅i⋅tive⋅ness, prim⋅i⋅tiv⋅i⋅ty, noun

Synonyms:
1, 2. prehistoric, primal, primary, primordial, original, aboriginal, antediluvian, pristine. See prime.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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prim·i·tive (prĭm'ĭ-tĭv)

adj.

Not derived from something else; primary or basic.
1. Of or relating to an earliest or original stage or state; primeval.
2. Being little evolved from an early ancestral type.
3. Serving as the basis for derived or inflected forms: Pick is the primitive word from which picket is derived.
4. Being a protolanguage: primitive Germanic.
5. Of or created by an artist without formal training; simple or naive in style.
6. 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.
Characterized by simplicity or crudity; unsophisticated: primitive weapons. See Synonyms at rude.
Anthropology Of or relating to a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially one that is characterized by a low level of economic complexity: primitive societies.
Linguistics
1. Serving as the basis for derived or inflected forms: Pick is the primitive word from which picket is derived.
2. Being a protolanguage: primitive Germanic.
3. Of or created by an artist without formal training; simple or naive in style.
4. 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.
Relating or belonging to forces of nature; elemental: primitive passions.
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.
Of or relating to late medieval or pre-Renaissance European painters or sculptors.
Biology Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.

Anthropology A person belonging to a nonindustrial, often tribal society, especially a society characterized by a low level of economic complexity.
An unsophisticated person.
One that is at a low or early stage of development.
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. A word or word element from which another word is derived by morphological or historical processes or from which inflected forms are derived.
6. A basic and indivisible unit of linguistic analysis. Also called prime.
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.
Mathematics An algebraic or geometric expression from which another expression is derived.
Computer Science A basic or fundamental unit of machine instruction or translation.

[Middle English, from Old French primitif, primitive, from Latin prīmitīvus, from prīmitus, at first, from prīmus, first; see per¹ in Indo-European roots.]
prim'i·tive·ly adv., prim'i·tive·ness, prim'i·tiv'i·ty 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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Primitive

Prim"i*tive\, a. [L. primitivus, fr. primus the first: cf. F. primitif. See Prime, a.]

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 co["o]rdinate (Geom.), 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 (Mus.), that chord, the lowest note of which is of the same literal denomination as the fundamental base of the harmony; -- opposed to derivative. --Moore (Encyc. of Music).

Primitive circle (Spherical Projection), the circle cut from the sphere to be projected, by the primitive plane.

Primitive colors (Paint.), primary colors. See under Color.

Primitive Fathers (Eccl.), the acknowledged Christian writers who flourished before the Council of Nice, A. D. 325. --Shipley.

Primitive groove (Anat.), 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 (Spherical Projection), 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 (Geol.), primary rocks. See under Primary.

Primitive sheath. (Anat.) See Neurilemma.

Primitive streak or trace (Anat.), an opaque and thickened band where the mesoblast first appears in the vertebrate blastoderm.

Syn: First; original; radical; pristine; ancient; primeval; antiquated; old-fashioned.

Primitive

Prim"i*tive\, n. An original or primary word; a word not derived from another; -- opposed to derivative.

Language Translation for : primitive

Spanish: primitivo,

German: urzeitlich,

Japanese: 原始の

More Translations »

primitive

c.1400, "of a thing from which something is derived, not secondary" (a sense now associated with primary), from O.Fr. primitif (fem. primitive), from L. 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 c.1526. In Christian sense of "adhering to the qualities of the early Church" it is recorded from 1685. Of untrained artists from 1942.

Main Entry: prim·i·tive
Pronunciation: 'prim-&t-iv
Function: adjective
1 : closely approximating an early ancestral type : little evolved
2 : belonging to or characteristic of an early stage of development <primitive cells> —prim·i·tive·ly adverb

primitive prim·i·tive (prĭm'ĭ-tĭv)
adj.

Primary; basic.
Of or being an earliest or original stage.
Being little evolved from an early ancestral type.

prim'i·tive·ness or prim'i·tiv'i·ty n.

primitive (prĭm'ĭ-tĭv) Pronunciation Key

Relating to an early or original stage.
Having evolved very little from an early type. Lampreys and sturgeon are primitive fishes.

primitive programming
A function, operator, or type which is built into a programming language (or operating system), either for speed of execution or because it would be impossible to write it in the language. Primitives typically include the arithmetic and logical operations (plus, minus, and, or, etc.) and are implemented by a small number of machine language instructions.
(1995-05-01)

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