Primitial Pri·mi"tial adjective Being of the first production; primitive; original. [ Obsolete] Ainsworth.

Primitive Prim"i·tive adjective [ Latin primitivus , from primus the first: confer French primitif . See Prime , adjective ] 1. Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church. "Our primitive great sire." Milton. 2. Of or pertaining to a former time; old- fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress. 3. Original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar. Primitive axes of coördinate (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 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.

Primitive Prim"i·tive noun An original or primary word; a word not derived from another; -- opposed to derivative .

Primitively Prim"i·tive·ly adverb 1. Originally; at first. 2. Primarily; not derivatively. 3. According to the original rule or ancient practice; in the ancient style. South.

Primitiveness Prim"i·tive·ness noun The quality or state of being primitive; conformity to primitive style or practice.

Primity Prim"i·ty noun Quality of being first; primitiveness. [ Obsolete] Bp. Pearson.

Primly Prim"ly adverb In a prim or precise manner.

Primness Prim"ness noun The quality or state of being prim; affected formality or niceness; preciseness; stiffness.

Primo Pri"mo adjective [ Italian ] (Mus.) First; chief.

Primogenial Pri`mo·ge"ni·al adjective [ See Primigenial .] First born, made, or generated; original; primary; elemental; as, primogenial light. Glanvill.

Primogenitive Pri`mo·gen"i·tive adjective [ See Primogeniture .] Of or pertaining to primogeniture. [ R.]

Primogenitive Pri`mo·gen"i·tive noun Primogeniture. [ Obsolete]

The primogenitive and due of birth.

Shak.

Primogenitor Pri`mo·gen"i·tor noun [ Late Latin , from Latin primus first + genitor a begetter.] The first ancestor; a forefather.

Primogeniture Pri`mo·gen"i·ture noun [ Late Latin , from Latin primus first + genitura a begetting, birth, generation, from genere , gignere , to beget: confer French primogéniture , Latin primogenitus firstborn. See Prime , adjective , and Genus , Kin .] 1. The state of being the firstborn of the same parents; seniority by birth among children of the same family. 2. (Eng. Law) The exclusive right of inheritance which belongs to the eldest son. Thus in England the right of inheriting the estate of the father belongs to the eldest son, and in the royal family the eldest son of the sovereign is entitled to the throne by primogeniture . In exceptional cases, among the female children, the crown descends by right of primogeniture to the eldest daughter only and her issue. Blackstone.

Primogenitureship Pri`mo·gen"i·ture·ship noun The state or privileges of the firstborn. Burke.

Primordial Pri·mor"di·al adjective [ Latin primordialis , from primordium the first beginning; primus first + ordiri to begin a web, to begin: confer French primordial .] 1. First in order; primary; original; of earliest origin; as, primordial condition. "The primordial facts of our intelligent nature." Sir W. Hamilton. 2. (Geol.) Of or pertaining to the lowest beds of the Silurian age, corresponding to the Acadian and Potsdam periods in American geology. It is called also Cambrian , and by many geologists is separated from the Silurian. 3. (Biol.) Originally or earliest formed in the growth of an individual or organ; as, a primordial leaf; a primordial cell. Primordial utricle (Botany) , the interior lining of a young vegetable cell.

Primordial Pri·mor"di·al noun A first principle or element.

Primordialism Pri·mor"di·al·ism noun Devotion to, or persistence in, conditions of the primordial state. H. Spencer.

Primordially Pri·mor"di·al·ly adverb At the beginning; under the first order of things; originally.

Primordian Pri·mor"di·an noun [ Latin primordius first of all, from primordium .] (Botany) A name given to several kinds of plums; as, red primordian , amber primordian , etc.

Primordiate Pri·mor"di·ate adjective Primordial. [ R.] Boyle.

Primp Primp intransitive verb & t. [ Confer Prim , adjective ] To be formal or affected in dress or manners; -- often with up . [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Halliwell.

Primrose Prim"rose` noun [ Middle English primerole , French primerole , a derivative from Late Latin primula , from Latin primus first. See Prime , adjective ] (Botany) (a) An early flowering plant of the genus Primula ( P. vulgaris ) closely allied to the cowslip. There are several varieties, as the white-, the red-, the yellow-flowered, etc. Formerly called also primerole , primerolles . (b) Any plant of the genus Primula . Evening primrose , an erect biennial herb ( Enothera biennis ), with yellow vespertine flowers, common in the United States. The name is sometimes extended to other species of the same genus. -- Primrose peerless , the two-flowered Narcissus ( N. biflorus ). [ Obsolete]

Primrose Prim"rose` adjective Of or pertaining to the primrose; of the color of a primrose; -- hence, flowery; gay. "The primrose path of dalliance." Shak.

Primrose League Prim"rose` League (Eng. Politics) A league of both sexes among the Conservatives, founded in 1883. So called because primrose was (erroneously, it is said) taken to be the favorite flower of the Conservative statesman Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield.

Primula Prim"u·la noun [ Late Latin See Primrose .] (Botany) The genus of plants including the primrose ( Primula vera ).

Primulaceous Prim`u·la"ceous adjective (Botany) Of or pertaining to an order of herbaceous plants ( Primulaceæ ), of which the primrose is the type, and the pimpernel, the cyclamen, and the water violet are other examples.

Primum mobile Pri"mum mob"i·le [ Latin , first cause of motion.] (Astron.) In the Ptolemaic system, the outermost of the revolving concentric spheres constituting the universe, the motion of which was supposed to carry with it all the inclosed spheres with their planets in a daily revolution from east to west. See Crystalline heavens , under Crystalline .

The motions of the greatest persons in a government ought to be, as the motions of the planets, under primum mobile .

Bacon.

Primus Pri"mus noun [ Latin , the first.] One of the bishops of the Episcopal Church of Scotland, who presides at the meetings of the bishops, and has certain privileges but no metropolitan authority. Internat. Cyc.

Primy Prim"y adjective [ From Prime , adjective ] Being in its prime. [ Obsolete] "The youth of primy nature." Shak.

Prince Prince noun [ French, from Latin princeps , -cipis , the first, chief; primus first + capere to take. See Prime , adjective , and Capacious .] 1. The one of highest rank; one holding the highest place and authority; a sovereign; a monarch; - - originally applied to either sex, but now rarely applied to a female. Wyclif (Reintransitive verb 5).

Go, Michael, of celestial armies prince .

Milton.

Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her sex.

Camden. 2. The son of a king or emperor, or the issue of a royal family; as, princes of the blood. Shak. 3. A title belonging to persons of high rank, differing in different countries. In England it belongs to dukes, marquises, and earls, but is given to members of the royal family only. In Italy a prince is inferior to a duke as a member of a particular order of nobility; in Spain he is always one of the royal family. 4. The chief of any body of men; one at the head of a class or profession; one who is preëminent; as, a merchant prince ; a prince of players. "The prince of learning." Peacham. Prince-Albert coat , a long double-breasted frock coat for men. -- Prince of the blood , Prince consort , Prince of darkness . See under Blood , Consort , and Darkness . -- Prince of Wales , the oldest son of the English sovereign. -- Prince's feather (Botany) , a name given to two annual herbs ( Amarantus caudatus and Polygonum orientale ), with apetalous reddish flowers arranged in long recurved panicled spikes. -- Prince's metal , Prince Rupert's metal . See under Metal . Prince's pine . (Botany) See Pipsissewa .

Prince Prince intransitive verb To play the prince. [ R.] Shak.

Princedom Prince"dom noun The jurisdiction, sovereignty, rank, or estate of a prince.

Thrones, princedoms , powers, dominions, I reduce.

Milton.

Princehood Prince"hood noun Princeliness. [ Obsolete] E. Hall.

Princekin Prince"kin noun A petty prince; a princeling.

The princekins of private life.

Thackeray.

Princeless Prince"less adjective Without a prince. Fuller.

Princelet Prince"let noun A petty prince. [ R.]

Princelike Prince"like` adjective Princely. Shak.

Princeliness Prince"li·ness noun The quality of being princely; the state, manner, or dignity of a prince.

Princeling Prince"ling noun A petty prince; a young prince.

Princely Prince"ly adjective 1. Of or relating to a prince; regal; royal; of highest rank or authority; as, princely birth, character, fortune, etc. 2. Suitable for, or becoming to, a prince; grand; august; munificent; magnificent; as, princely virtues; a princely fortune. "Most princely gifts." Shak.

Princely Prince"ly adverb In a princely manner.

My appetite was not princely got.

Shak.

Princess Prin"cess noun [ French princesse . See Prince , and confer Princesse .] 1. A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. Dryden.

So excellent a princess as the present queen.

Swift. 2. The daughter of a sovereign; a female member of a royal family. Shak. 3. The consort of a prince; as, the princess of Wales. Princess royal , the eldest daughter of a sovereign.

Princesse Prin·cesse" adjective [ French, a princess.] A term applied to a lady's long, close-fitting dress made with waist and skirt in one.

Princesslike Prin"cess·like` adjective Like a princess.

Princewood Prince"wood` noun (Botany) The wood of two small tropical American trees ( Hamelia ventricosa , and Cordia gerascanthoides ). It is brownish, veined with lighter color.

Princified Prin"ci·fied adjective [ Prince + Latin -ficare (in comp.).] Imitative of a prince. [ R. & Colloq.] Thackeray.

Principal Prin"ci·pal adjective [ French, from Latin principalis . See Prince .] 1. Highest in rank, authority, character, importance, or degree; most considerable or important; chief; main; as, the principal officers of a Government; the principal men of a state; the principal productions of a country; the principal arguments in a case.

Wisdom is the principal thing.

Prov. iv. 7. 2. Of or pertaining to a prince; princely. [ A Latinism] [ Obsolete] Spenser. Principal axis . See Axis of a curve , under Axis . -- Principal axes of a quadric (Geom.) , three lines in which the principal planes of the solid intersect two and two, as in an ellipsoid. -- Principal challenge . (Law) See under Challenge . -- Principal plane . See Plane of projection (a) , under Plane . -- Principal of a quadric (Geom.) , three planes each of which is at right angles to the other two, and bisects all chords of the quadric perpendicular to the plane, as in an ellipsoid. -- Principal point (Persp.) , the projection of the point of sight upon the plane of projection. -- Principal ray (Persp.) , the line drawn through the point of sight perpendicular to the perspective plane. -- Principal section (Crystallog.) , a plane passing through the optical axis of a crystal.

Principal Prin"ci·pal noun 1. A leader, chief, or head; one who takes the lead; one who acts independently, or who has controlling authority or influence; as, the principal of a faction, a school, a firm, etc.; -- distinguished from a subordinate , abettor , auxiliary , or assistant . 2. Hence: (Law) (a) The chief actor in a crime, or an abettor who is present at it, -- as distinguished from an accessory . (b) A chief obligor, promisor, or debtor, -- as distinguished from a surety . (c) One who employs another to act for him, -- as distinguished from an agent . Wharton. Bouvier. Burrill. 3. A thing of chief or prime importance; something fundamental or especially conspicuous. Specifically: (a) (Com.) A capital sum of money, placed out at interest, due as a debt or used as a fund; -- so called in distinction from interest or profit . (b) (Arch. & Engin.) The construction which gives shape and strength to a roof, -- generally a truss of timber or iron, but there are roofs with stone principals . Also, loosely, the most important member of a piece of framing. (c) (Mus.) In English organs the chief open metallic stop, an octave above the open diapason. On the manual it is four feet long, on the pedal eight feet. In Germany this term corresponds to the English open diapason. (d) (O. Eng. Law) A heirloom; a mortuary. Cowell. (e) plural The first two long feathers of a hawk's wing. Spenser. J. H. Walsh. (f) One of turrets or pinnacles of waxwork and tapers with which the posts and center of a funeral hearse were formerly crowned. Oxf. Gloss. (g) A principal or essential point or rule; a principle. [ Obsolete]

Principality Prin`ci·pal"i·ty noun ; plural Principalities . [ Latin principalitas preëminence, excellence: confer French principalité , principauté . See Principal .] 1. Sovereignty; supreme power; hence, superiority; predominance; high, or the highest, station. Sir P. Sidney.

Your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

Jer. xiii. 18.

The prerogative and principality above everything else.

Jer. Taylor. 2. A prince; one invested with sovereignty. "Next upstood Nisroch, of principalities the prime." Milton. 3. The territory or jurisdiction of a prince; or the country which gives title to a prince; as, the principality of Wales.