Primary Definition
prīmĕrē, -mə-rē
primaries
adjective
First in time or order of development; primitive; original; earliest.
Webster's New World
Of or relating to primary schools.
American Heritage
Designating colors regarded as basic, or as those from which all others may be derived.
Webster's New World
From which others are derived; fundamental; elemental; basic.
Webster's New World
First in importance; chief; principal; main.
A primary concern.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
noun
primaries
One that is first in time, order, or sequence.
American Heritage
Something first in order, quality, importance, etc.
Webster's New World
In the U.S.,
Webster's New World
One that is fundamental, basic, or elemental.
American Heritage
A sun, planet, etc. in relation to its satellites.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
- primary coil
- primary winding
- primary quill
- primary feather
- primary-election
- primer
- hornbook
- abecedarium
verb
(US, intransitive) To take part in a primary election.
Wiktionary
(US, politics) To challenge an incumbent sitting politician for their political party's endorsement to run for re-election, through running a challenger campaign in a primary election.
Wiktionary
Other Word Forms of Primary
Noun
Singular:
primary
Plural:
primariesOrigin of Primary
-
Borrowing from Latin prÄ«mārius ("of the first", “of the first rank", “chief", “principal", “excellent"), from prÄ«mus (“first"; whence the English adjective prime) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French primaire, primer, and premier.
From Wiktionary
-
Middle English from Latin prīmārius chief from prīmus first per1 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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