Definitions for Primitive
ˈprɪm ɪ tɪvprim·i·tive

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.4 / 7 votes

1. primitive, primitive personnoun

   a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization

2. primitivenoun

   a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived

3. primitiveadjective

   a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms

   "`pick' is the primitive from which `picket' is derived"

4. crude, primitive, rudeadjective

   belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness

   "the crude weapons and rude agricultural implements of early man"; "primitive movies of the 1890s"; "primitive living conditions in the Appalachian mountains"

5. archaic, primitiveadjective

   little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type

   "archaic forms of life"; "primitive mammals"; "the okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe"

6. primitiveadjective

   used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies

   "primitive societies"

7. primitive, naiveadjective

   of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style

   "primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking"

WiktionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. primitivenoun

   An original or primary word; a word not derived from another, as opposed to derivative.

2. primitivenoun

   A data type that is built into the programming language, as opposed to more complex structures.

3. primitivenoun

   A basic geometric shape from which more complex shapes can be constructed.

4. primitivenoun

   A function whose derivative is a given function; an antiderivative.

5. primitiveadjective

   Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church.

6. primitiveadjective

   Of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress.

7. primitiveadjective

   Original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar.

8. primitiveadjective

   Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.

9. Etymology: From primitif, from primitivus, from primus; see prime.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. PRIMITIVEadjective

   Etymology: primitif, Fr. primitivus, Lat.

   1. Ancient; original; established from the beginning.

   Their superstition pretends, they cannot do God greater service, than utterly to destroy the primitive apostolical government of the church by bishops. Charles I .

   David reflects sometimes upon the present form of the world, and sometimes upon the primitive form of it. Burnet.

   The doctrine of purgatory, by which they mean an estate of temporary punishments after this life, was not known in the primitive church, nor can be proved from scripture. John Tillotson.

   2. Formal; affectedly solemn; imitating the supposed gravity of old times.3. Original; primary; not derivative: as, in grammar, a primitive verb.

   Our primitive great sire, to meet
   His godlike guest, walks forth. John Milton.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. primitive

   Primitive refers to the earliest or original stage or state of something, often characterized by simplicity, lack of advanced development, or being rudimentary. It can also denote a basic or fundamental concept that cannot be deduced from other concepts. In anthropology or archaeology, it connotes relating or belonging to a society that is characterized by non-advanced or basic technological and social development.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:1.5 / 2 votes

1. Primitiveadjective

   of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church

2. Primitiveadjective

   of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress

3. Primitiveadjective

   original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar

4. Primitivenoun

   an original or primary word; a word not derived from another; -- opposed to derivative

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Primitive

   Primitive is the second studio album by the metal band Soulfly released in 2000 through Roadrunner Records. Primitive has sold over 226,569 copies.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Primitive

   prim′i-tiv, adj. belonging to the beginning, or to the first times: original: ancient: antiquated, old-fashioned: not derived: (biol.) rudimentary, primary or first of its kind: (geol.) of the earliest formation.—n. a primitive word, or one not derived from another: (math.) a form from which another is derived.—ns.pl. Prim′itive-col′ours, the colours from which all others are supposed to be derived—viz. red, yellow, and blue; Prim′itive-fa′thers, the Christian writers before the Council of Nice, 325 A.D.—adv. Prim′itively.—n.pl. Prim′itive-Meth′odists, a religious body founded in 1810, whose beliefs are the same as those of other Methodists, but whose working arrangements are nearly Presbyterian.—n. Prim′itiveness.—n.pl. Prim′itive-rocks (see Primary-rocks). [Fr.,—L. primitivus, an extension of primus.]

EntomologyRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Primitive

   simple in character; of an early or ancient type.

Matched Categories

1. • Anthropology
   • Fine Arts
   • Formula

British National Corpus

1. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Primitive' in Adjectives Frequency: #704

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce Primitive?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Primitive in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Primitive in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Primitive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of Primitive in a Sentence

1. Robert Graves:

   Anthropologists are a connecting link between poets and scientists though their field-work among primitive peoples has often made them forget the language of science.

2. Shiladitya DasSarma:

   What happened I think is that the chlorophyll-based photosynthesis is more efficient, which means they generally have outcompeted the the purple organisms, in evolution, you had progression from more primitive to more complex and capable systems.

3. Donald Tusk:

   We're challenged by the opposite of modernity, which is a barbaric mediaevalism, early mediaevalism, primitive, savage, murderous, that comes from the two sources of militant Islam, europe should support Israel - not pressure Israel, not attack Israel, but support Israel, which is the only real shield that Europe and the Middle East have against extremist Islam, which is surging.

4. John Wayne:

   Don't ever for a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at westerns. They're art - the good ones, I mean. They deal in life and sudden death and primitive struggle, and with the basic emotions - love, hate, and anger - thrown in. We'll have westerns films as long as the cameras keep turning. The fascination that the Old West has will never die. And as long as people want to pay money to see me act, I'll keep on making westerns until the day I die.

5. Stephen Leacock:

   The classics are only primitive literature. They belong to the same class as primitive machinery and primitive music and primitive medicine.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Primitive
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Primitive
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=Primitive
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Primitive
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Primitive
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=Primitive
8. ^ Entomology
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/22748/22748-h/22748-h.htm#:~:text=Primitive
9. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Primitive