primitive
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prim·i·tive
(prĭm′ĭ-tĭv)adj.
1.
a. Of or relating to an early or original stage or state; primeval: life in the primitive ocean.
b. Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution: fossils of primitive angiosperms from the Cretaceous Period.
c. Having developed early in the evolutionary history of a group: Hair is a primitive trait of mammals.
d. Regarded as having changed little in evolutionary history. Not in scientific use: The coelacanth is a primitive fish.
2. Characterized by simplicity or crudity; unsophisticated: primitive weapons.
3. Of or relating to a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially one that is characterized by an absence of literacy and a low level of economic or technological complexity: primitive societies.
4. Not derived from something else; primary or basic: "Conscious perception is ... the most primitive form of judgment" (Alfred North Whitehead).
5. Linguistics
a. Serving as the basis for derived or inflected forms: Pick is the primitive word from which picket is derived.
b. Being a protolanguage: primitive Germanic.
6. Not resulting from conscious thought or deliberation; unconscious or instinctual: primitive passions.
7.
a. Of or created by an artist without formal training; simple or naive in style.
b. Of or relating to late medieval or pre-Renaissance European painters or sculptors.
n.
1. A person belonging to a nonindustrial, often tribal society, especially a society characterized by a low level of economic or technological complexity.
2. Derogatory An unsophisticated or unintelligent person.
3. One that is at a low or early stage of development.
4.
a. One belonging to an early stage in the development of an artistic trend, especially a painter of the pre-Renaissance period.
b. An artist having or affecting a simple, direct, unschooled style, as of painting.
c. A work of art created by a primitive artist.
5. Linguistics
a. A word or word element from which another word is derived by morphological or historical processes or from which inflected forms are derived.
b. A basic and indivisible unit of linguistic analysis. Also called prime.
6. Mathematics An algebraic or geometric expression from which another expression is derived.
7. Computers 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 per in Indo-European roots.]
prim′i·tive·ly adv.
prim′i·tive·ness, prim′i·tiv′i·ty n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
primitive
(ˈprɪmɪtɪv)adj
1. of or belonging to the first or beginning; original
2. characteristic of an early state, esp in being crude or uncivilized: a primitive dwelling.
3. (Anthropology & Ethnology) anthropol denoting or relating to a preliterate and nonindustrial social system
4. (Biology) biology
a. of, relating to, or resembling an early stage in the evolutionary development of a particular group of organisms: primitive amphibians.
b. another word for primordial3
5. (Art Terms) showing the characteristics of primitive painters; untrained, childlike, or naive
6. (Geological Science) geology pertaining to magmas that have experienced only small degrees of fractional crystallization or crystal contamination
7. (Geological Science) obsolete of, relating to, or denoting rocks formed in or before the Palaeozoic era
8. (Linguistics) obsolete denoting a word from which another word is derived, as for example hope, from which hopeless is derived
9. (Theology) Protestant theol of, relating to, or associated with a minority group that breaks away from a sect, denomination, or Church in order to return to what is regarded as the original simplicity of the Gospels
n
10. a primitive person or thing
11. (Art Terms)
a. an artist whose work does not conform to traditional, academic, or avant-garde standards of Western painting, such as a painter from an African or Oceanic civilization
b. a painter of the pre-Renaissance era in European painting
c. a painter of any era whose work appears childlike or untrained. Also called (for senses 11a, 11c): naive
12. (Art Terms) a work by such an artist
13. (Linguistics) a word or concept from which another word or concept is derived
14. (Mathematics) maths a curve, function, or other form from which another is derived
[C14: from Latin prīmitīvus earliest of its kind, primitive, from prīmus first]
ˈprimitively adv
ˈprimitiveness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
prim•i•tive
(ˈprɪm ɪ tɪv)adj.
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. Anthropol.
a. of or indicating a people or society organized in bands or tribes and having a simple economy and technology.
b. (no longer in technical use) of or indicating a preliterate people having cultural or physical similarities with their early ancestors.
5. unaffected or little affected by civilizing influences; uncivilized; savage: primitive passions.
6. of an early or the earliest period.
7. old-fashioned: primitive notions of style.
8. simple or crude: primitive equipment; primitive housing.
9.
a. of or pertaining to a form from which a word or other linguistic form is derived; not derivative.
b. of or pertaining to a protolanguage.
10. primary, as distinguished from secondary.
11. Biol.
n. 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.
12. someone or something primitive.
13.
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.
14. a geometric or algebraic form or expression from which another is derived.
15. a form from which a given word or other linguistic form has been derived by morphological or historical processes, as take in undertake.
[1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin prīmitīvus the first to form, early, derivative of prīmit(iae) first fruits, derivative of prīmus first]
prim′i•tive•ly, adv.
prim′i•tive•ness, prim`i•tiv′i•ty, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
prim·i·tive
(prĭm′ĭ-tĭv)1. Relating to an early or original stage: a primitive form of life.
2. Having evolved very little from an early type. Lampreys and sturgeon are primitive fishes.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  primitive - a person who belongs to an early stage of civilizationindividual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" Indo-European, Aryan - a member of the prehistoric people who spoke Proto-Indo European autochthon - the earliest known inhabitants of a region Basket Maker - early Amerindians related to the Pueblo; known for skill in making baskets Heidelberg man, Homo heidelbergensis - a type of primitive man who lived in Europe ape-man, missing link - hypothetical organism formerly thought to be intermediate between apes and human beings Mound Builder - prehistoric Amerindians who built altar mounds Piltdown hoax, Piltdown man - a supposedly primitive man later proven to be a hoax |
| 2. | primitive - a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived formula, expression - a group of symbols that make a mathematical statement | |
| 3. | primitive - a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms; "`pick' is the primitive from which `picket' is derived" word - a unit of language that native speakers can identify; "words are the blocks from which sentences are made"; "he hardly said ten words all morning" | |
| Adj. | 1. | primitive - 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" early - being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer" |
| 2. |  primitive - 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"early - being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer" | |
| 3. | primitive - used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies; "primitive societies" anthropology - the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings noncivilised, noncivilized - not having a high state of culture and social development | |
| 4. | primitive - 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" beaux arts, fine arts - the study and creation of visual works of art untrained - not disciplined or conditioned or made adept by training; "an untrained voice"; "untrained troops"; "young minds untrained in the habit of concentration" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
primitive
adjective
1. uncivilized, savage, barbarian, barbaric, undeveloped, uncultivated studies of primitive societies
uncivilized developed, civilized
uncivilized developed, civilized
2. early, first, earliest, original, primary, elementary, pristine, primordial, primeval primitive birds from the dinosaur era
early later, modern, advanced
early later, modern, advanced
3. simple, naive, childlike, untrained, undeveloped, unsophisticated, untutored primitive art
simple trained, developed, adult, mature, sophisticated, tutored
simple trained, developed, adult, mature, sophisticated, tutored
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
primitive
adjective2. Of or being an irreducible element:
3. Of, existing, or occurring in a distant period:
4. Exhibiting lack of education or knowledge:
5. Lacking expert, careful craftsmanship:
6. Of or relating to early stages in the evolution of human culture:
7. Not civilized:
Archaic: uncivil.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
بِدائيبِدَائِيّبَسيط، ساذِج
primitivníjednoduchý
primitivsimpeltidlig
alkeellinen
primitivan
frumstæîur
初期の
원시적인
pirmatnējsprimitīvsprimitīvs, ļoti vienkāršs
primitiv
แบบดั้งเดิม
sơ khai
primitive
[ˈprɪmɪtɪv]A. ADJ (gen) → primitivo; (= old-fashioned) → anticuado; (= basic) → rudimentario, básico; (= uncivilized) → inculto; (= sordid) → miserable (Art) → primitivo
B. N (Art) (= artist) → primitivista mf; (= work) → obra f primitivista
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
primitive
[ˈprɪmɪtɪv] adj [society, people, tribe, tool] → primitif/ive
[instinct, creature] → primitif/ive
[state, conditions, technology] → rudimentaire
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
primitive
[ˈprɪmɪtɪv] adj & n → primitivo/aCollins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
primitive
(ˈprimətiv) adjective1. belonging to the earliest times. primitive stone tools.
2. simple or rough. He made a primitive boat out of some pieces of wood.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
primitive
→ بِدَائِيّ primitivní primitiv primitiv πρωτόγονος primitivo alkeellinen primitif primitivan primitivo 初期の 원시적인 primitief primitiv pierwotny primitivo примитивный primitiv แบบดั้งเดิม ilkel sơ khai 原始的Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
prim·i·tive
a. primitivo-a; embriónico-a.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
primitive
adj primitivoEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.