primordial
Americanadjective
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constituting a beginning; giving origin to something derived or developed; original; elementary.
primordial forms of life.
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Embryology. first formed.
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pertaining to or existing at or from the very beginning.
primordial matter.
adjective
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existing at or from the beginning; earliest; primeval
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constituting an origin; fundamental
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biology of or relating to an early stage of development
primordial germ cells
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of primordial
1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin prīmōrdiālis of the beginning. See primordium, -al 1
Explanation
Primordial, an adjective, describes something that has been around forever, like cockroaches. Primordial comes from the Latin words primus, meaning "first" and ordiri, "to begin." So it is easy to see that this adjective means "first of all, original." When something is primordial, it has existed since the earliest time, like the primordial mud some scientists believe was the source of all life on Earth. Remember that is it a scientific term — don't call your teacher primordial just because she's been teaching at your school since it opened.
Vocabulary lists containing primordial
The Call of the Wild
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This Week In Words: January 4–10, 2020
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Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By contrast, the living room on the lower level—a 48-by-33-foot space that would be the equivalent of the salon on a luxury liner—is almost primordial in character.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The new experiments show that much smaller nuclei can also generate the primordial material.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
An international research team has found that primordial black holes may trigger white dwarf stars to explode as Type Ia supernovae.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
Over billions of years, this primordial collection of MN-zymes may have slowly evolved, renewed itself, and become increasingly sophisticated.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
She was the oldest and most primordial of the Olympians, born from the blood of Ouranos churning in the sea.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
