Adjacent Words

Primary definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PRI'MARY, a. [L. primarius. See Prime.]
1. First in order of time; original; as the church of Christ in its primary institution.
These I call original or primary qualities of body.
2. First in dignity or importance; chief; principal. Our ancestors considered the education of youth or primary importance.
3. Elemental; intended to teach youth the first rudiments; as primary schools.
4. Radical; original; as the primary sense of a word.
Primary planets, are those which revolve about the sun, in distinction form the secondary planets, which revolve about the primary.
Primary qualities of bodies, are such as are original and inseparable from them.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondary; "primary goals"; "a primary effect"; "primary sources"; "a primary interest" [ant: secondary]
2: not derived from or reducible to something else; basic; "a primary instinct"
3: most important element; "the chief aim of living"; "the main doors were of solid glass"; "the principal rivers of America"; "the principal example"; "policemen were primary targets"; "the master bedroom"; "a master switch" [syn: chief, main, primary, principal, master]
4: of or being the essential or basic part; "an elementary need for love and nurturing" [syn: elementary, elemental, primary]
5: of primary importance [syn: basal, primary] n
1: a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen [syn: primary, primary election]
2: one of the main flight feathers projecting along the outer edge of a bird's wing [syn: primary, primary feather, primary quill]
3: (astronomy) a celestial body (especially a star) relative to other objects in orbit around it
4: coil forming the part of an electrical circuit such that changing current in it induces a current in a neighboring circuit; "current through the primary coil induces current in the secondary coil" [syn: primary coil, primary winding, primary]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin primarius basic, primary, from Latin, principal, from primus Date: 15th century 1. first in order of time or development ; primitive <the primary stage of civilization> <the primary lesion of a disease> 2. a. of first rank, importance, or value ; principal <the primary purpose> b. basic, fundamental <security is a primary need> c. of, relating to, or constituting the principal quills of a bird's wing d. of or relating to agriculture, forestry, and the extractive industries or their products e. expressive of present or future time <primary tense> f. of, relating to, or constituting the strongest of the three or four degrees of stress recognized by most linguists <the first syllable of basketball carries primary stress> 3. a. direct, firsthand <primary sources of information> b. not derivable from other colors, odors, or tastes c. preparatory to something else in a continuing process <primary instruction> d. of or relating to a primary school <primary education> e. of or relating to a primary election <a primary candidate> f. belonging to the first group or order in successive divisions, combinations, or ramifications <primary nerves> g. directly derived from ores <primary metals> h. of, relating to, or being the amino acid sequence in proteins <primary protein structure> 4. resulting from the substitution of one of two or more atoms or groups in a molecule <a primary amine>; especially being or characterized by a carbon atom having a bond to only one other carbon atom 5. of, relating to, involving, or derived from primary meristem <primary tissue> <primary growth> 6. of, relating to, or involved in the production of organic substances by green plants <primary productivity> 7. providing primary care <a primary physician> II. noun (plural -ries) Date: 1656 1. something that stands first in rank, importance, or value ; fundamental — usually used in plural 2. the celestial body around which one or more other celestial bodies revolve; especially the more massive usually brighter component of a binary star system 3. one of the usually 9 or 10 strong quills on the distal joint of a bird's wing — see wing illustration 4. a. primary color b. the sensation of seeing primary colors 5. a. caucus b. an election in which qualified voters nominate or express a preference for a particular candidate or group of candidates for political office, choose party officials, or select delegates for a party convention 6. the coil that is connected to the source of electricity in an induction coil or transformer — called also primary coil

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 a of the first importance; chief (that is our primary concern). b fundamental, basic. 2 earliest, original; first in a series. 3 of the first rank in a series; not derived (the primary meaning of a word). 4 designating any of the colours red, green, and blue, or for pigments red, blue, and yellow, from which all other colours can be obtained by mixing. 5 (of a battery or cell) generating electricity by irreversible chemical reaction. 6 (of education) for young children, esp. below the age of 11. 7 (Primary) Geol. of the lowest series of strata. 8 Biol. belonging to the first stage of development. 9 (of an industry or source of production) concerned with obtaining or using raw materials. 10 Gram. (of a tense in Latin and Greek) present, future, perfect, or future perfect (cf. HISTORIC). --n. (pl. -ies) 1 a thing that is primary. 2 (in full primary election) (in the US) a preliminary election to appoint delegates to a party conference or to select the candidates for a principal (esp. presidential) election. 3 = primary planet. 4 (Primary) Geol. the Primary period. 5 = primary feather. 6 = primary coil. Phrases and idioms: primary coil a coil to which current is supplied in a transformer. primary feather a large flight-feather of a bird's wing. primary planet a planet that directly orbits the sun (cf. secondary planet). primary school a school where young children are taught, esp. below the age of 11. Derivatives: primarily adv. Etymology: ME f. L primarius f. primus first

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Primary Pri"ma*ry, a. [L. primarius, fr. primus first: cf. F. primaire. See Prime, a., and cf. Premier, Primero.] 1. First in order of time or development or in intention; primitive; fundamental; original. The church of Christ, in its primary institution. --Bp. Pearson. These I call original, or primary, qualities of body. --Locke. 2. First in order, as being preparatory to something higher; as, primary assemblies; primary schools. 3. First in dignity or importance; chief; principal; as, primary planets; a matter of primary importance. 4. (Geol.) Earliest formed; fundamental. 5. (Chem.) Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement. Primary alcohol (Organic Chem.), any alcohol which possess the group CH2.OH, and can be oxidized so as to form a corresponding aldehyde and acid having the same number of carbon atoms; -- distinguished from secondary & tertiary alcohols. Primary amine (Chem.), an amine containing the amido group, or a derivative of ammonia in which only one atom of hydrogen has been replaced by a basic radical; -- distinguished from secondary & tertiary amines. Primary amputation (Surg.), an amputation for injury performed as soon as the shock due to the injury has passed away, and before symptoms of inflammation supervene. Primary axis (Bot.), the main stalk which bears a whole cluster of flowers. Primary colors. See under Color. Primary meeting, a meeting of citizens at which the first steps are taken towards the nomination of candidates, etc. See Caucus. Primary pinna (Bot.), one of those portions of a compound leaf or frond which branch off directly from the main rhachis or stem, whether simple or compounded. Primary planets. (Astron.) See the Note under Planet. Primary qualities of bodies, such are essential to and inseparable from them. Primary quills (Zo["o]l.), the largest feathers of the wing of a bird; primaries. Primary rocks (Geol.), a term early used for rocks supposed to have been first formed, being crystalline and containing no organic remains, as granite, gneiss, etc.; -- called also primitive rocks. The terms Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary rocks have also been used in like manner, but of these the last two only are now in use. Primary salt (Chem.), a salt derived from a polybasic acid in which only one acid hydrogen atom has been replaced by a base or basic radical. Primary syphilis (Med.), the initial stage of syphilis, including the period from the development of the original lesion or chancre to the first manifestation of symptoms indicative of general constitutional infection. Primary union (Surg.), union without suppuration; union by the first intention.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Primary Pri"ma*ry, n.; pl. Primaries. 1. That which stands first in order, rank, or importance; a chief matter. 2. A primary meeting; a caucus. 3. (Zo["o]l.) One of the large feathers on the distal joint of a bird's wing. See Plumage, and Illust. of Bird. 4. (Astron.) A primary planet; the brighter component of a double star. See under Planet.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(primaries) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. You use primary to describe something that is very important. (FORMAL) That's the primary reason the company's share price has held up so well... His misunderstanding of language was the primary cause of his other problems... = main ADJ: ADJ n 2. Primary education is given to pupils between the ages of 5 and 11. (BRIT; in AM, use elementary) Britain did not introduce compulsory primary education until 1880... ...primary teachers. ADJ: ADJ n 3. Primary is used to describe something that occurs first. It is not the primary tumour that kills, but secondary growths elsewhere in the body... ADJ: ADJ n 4. A primary or a primary election is an election in an American state in which people vote for someone to become a candidate for a political office. Compare general election. ...the 1968 New Hampshire primary... N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Primitive, aboriginal, original, primordial, primeval, pristine, first, earliest. 2. Chief, principal, main. 3. Elementary, preparatory. 4. Radical, original.

Moby Thesaurus

Maxwell triangle, Munsell scale, ab ovo, abecedarian, aboriginal, all-absorbing, antenatal, anterior, arch, austere, autochthonous, banner, bare, basal, basic, basilar, beginning, bottom, budding, by-election, capital, cardinal, caucus, central, champion, chaste, chief, chromatic circle, chromatic spectrum, chromaticity diagram, closed primary, color circle, color cycle, color index, color mixture curve, color solid, color spectrum, color system, color triangle, complementary color, congressional election, constituent, constitutive, contested election, controlling, creative, crowning, crucial, demitint, direct, direct primary, dominant, earliest, election, elemental, elementary, embryonic, essential, fetal, first, firsthand, focal, fore, forehand, foremost, formative, forward, foundational, front, frontal, full color, fundamental, fundamental colors, general election, generative, genetic, germinal, gestatory, great, gut, half tint, halftone, head, headmost, hegemonic, highest, homely, homespun, homogeneous, hue cycle, immediate, in embryo, in its infancy, in ovo, in the bud, inaugural, inceptive, inchoate, inchoative, incipient, incunabular, indivisible, infant, infantile, initial, initiative, initiatory, introductory, inventive, irreducible, leading, magisterial, maiden, main, mandatory primary, master, material, mere, metamer, monochrome, monolithic, nascent, natal, nonpartisan primary, of a piece, of the essence, open primary, optional primary, original, overriding, overruling, paramount, partisan election, parturient, pioneer, plain, postnatal, predominant, preeminent, preference primary, pregnant, premier, prenatal, preponderant, presidential election, presidential preference primary, presidential primary, prevailing, primal, primary color, primary election, prime, primeval, primitive, primogenial, primordial, principal, pristine, procreative, protogenic, prototypal, pure, pure and simple, pure color, radical, ranking, referendum, rudimental, rudimentary, ruling, runoff, runoff election, runoff primary, secondary, secondary color, seminal, severe, simon-pure, simple, single, solar spectrum, sovereign, spare, spectral color, spectrum, spectrum color, star, stark, stellar, substantial, substantive, supereminent, supreme, tertiary, tertiary color, topflight, topmost, ultimate, unadorned, unadulterated, uncluttered, uncopied, underived, underlying, undifferenced, undifferentiated, unduplicated, unexampled, uniform, unimitated, unmixed, unprecedented, unreproduced, uppermost, ur