Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Primitive
1.
Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first;
“Our primitive great sire.” as,
primitive
innocence; the primitive
church. Milton.
2.
Of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity;
as, a
. primitive
style of dress3.
Original; primary; radical; not derived;
as,
. primitive
verb in grammarPrimitive axes of coordinate
(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
Primitive 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.
Prim′i-tive
,Noun.
An original or primary word; a word not derived from another; – opposed to derivative.
Webster 1828 Edition
Primitive
PRIM'ITIVE
,Adj.
1.
Pertaining to the beginning or origin; original; first; as the primitive state of Adam; primitive innocence; primitive ages; the primitive church; the primitive christian church or institutions; the primitive fathers.2.
Formal; affectedly solemn; imitating the supposed gravity of old times.3.
Original; primary; radical; not derived; as a primitive verb in grammar.Primitive rocks, in geology, rocks supposed to be first formed, being irregularly crystallized, and aggregated without a cement,
and containing no organic remains; as granite, gneiss, &c.
PRIM'ITIVE
,Noun.