What does primitive mean?
Definitions for primitive
ˈprɪm ɪ tɪvprim·i·tive
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word primitive.
Princeton's WordNet
primitive, primitive personnoun
a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization
primitivenoun
a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived
primitiveadjective
a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms
"`pick' is the primitive from which `picket' is derived"
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"
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"
primitiveadjective
used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies
"primitive societies"
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"
Wiktionary
primitivenoun
An original or primary word; a word not derived from another, as opposed to derivative.
primitivenoun
A data type that is built into the programming language, as opposed to more complex structures.
primitivenoun
A basic geometric shape from which more complex shapes can be constructed.
primitivenoun
A function whose derivative is a given function; an antiderivative.
primitiveadjective
Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church.
primitiveadjective
Of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress.
primitiveadjective
Original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar.
primitiveadjective
Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.
Etymology: From primitif, from primitivus, from primus; see prime.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
PRIMITIVEadjective
Etymology: primitif, Fr. primitivus, Lat.
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.
Our primitive great sire, to meet
His godlike guest, walks forth. John Milton.
ChatGPT
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 Dictionary
Primitiveadjective
of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church
Primitiveadjective
of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress
Primitiveadjective
original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar
Primitivenoun
an original or primary word; a word not derived from another; -- opposed to derivative
Wikidata
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 Dictionary
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.]
Entomology
Primitive
simple in character; of an early or ancient type.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'primitive' in Adjectives Frequency: #704
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of primitive in Chaldean Numerology is: 5
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of primitive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4
Examples of primitive in a Sentence
Popular art is normally decried as vulgar by the cultivated people of its time; then it loses favor with its original audience as a new generation grows up; then it begins to merge into the softer lighting of quaint, and cultivated people become interested in it, and finally it begins to take on the archaic dignity of the primitive.
We don't know much about aliens, but we know about humans, if you look at history, contact between humans and less intelligent organisms have often been disastrous from their point of view, and encounters between civilizations with advanced versus primitive technologies have gone badly for the less advanced. A civilization reading one of our messages could be billions of years ahead of us. If so, they will be vastly more powerful, and may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria.
Food is the most primitive form of comfort.
My parents are migrants ; I'm more from the city than the country, but I always knew what the country was, and from there comes what I paint, though I do not come from a primitive world.
The Belarusian authorities are not so primitive. They are not Internet-phobic. Lukashenko is a rational person, revolutions do not occur due to the fact that someone writes something on the Internet.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for primitive
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- بدائيArabic
- primitiuCatalan, Valencian
- primitivníCzech
- primitivGerman
- πρωτόγονοςGreek
- primitivaEsperanto
- primitivoSpanish
- alkeellinenFinnish
- primitifFrench
- primitivoItalian
- 原始的Japanese
- ಪ್ರಾಚೀನKannada
- 원시Korean
- primitivusLatin
- primitiefDutch
- prymitywnyPolish
- primitivo, primitivaPortuguese
- primitivRomanian
- примитивныйRussian
- prȉmitīvanSerbo-Croatian
- பழமையானதுTamil
Get even more translations for primitive »
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