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primordial Definition

pri·mor·dial (prī môrdē əl)

adjective

  1. first in time; existing at or from the beginning; primitive; primeval
  2. not derivative; fundamental; original
  3. Biol. earliest formed in the development of an organism, organ, structure, etc.; primitive

Etymology: ME < LL primordialis < L primordium, the beginning < primus, first (see prime) + ordiri, to begin (see order)

primordial Related Forms

pri·mor·di·ally adverb

primordial Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • globule: I can trace my family back to a protoplasmal primordial atomic globule.
  • follicle: The ovary contains many primordial follicles, which are mostly found around the edges of the cortex.
  • slime: Having three main branches and roots the tree was believed to have sprung from the beginning of time out of primordial slime and ashes.
  • soup: Each society started with the primordial soup shown in Figure 13.
  • fluctuation: These defects present a number of different scenarios for creating the primordial fluctuations in matter density which seeded galaxy formation.
  • chaos: A temple was an imago mundi, symbolizing the cosmos, the sacred order divinely imposed on primordial chaos.

Browse dictionary entries near primordial

  1. primogeniture
  2. primogenitor
  3. primo
  4. primitivism
  5. primitive
  6. primipara
  7. priming
  8. primeval
  9. primero
  10. primer
  1. primordium
  2. primp
  3. primrose
  4. primrose path
  5. primula
  6. primum mobile
  7. primus inter pares
  8. prin
  9. prince
  10. Prince Albert