primeval

or pri·mae·val

[ prahy-mee-vuhl ]

/ praɪˈmi vəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR primeval ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to the first age or ages, especially of the world: primeval forms of life.

Nearby words

prime vertical, primely, primer, primero, primers, primeval, primigravida, primine, priming, primipara, primitive

Origin of primeval

1765–75; < Latin prīmaev(us) young (prīm(us) prime + aev(um) age + -us adj. suffix) + -al¹

SYNONYMS FOR primeval

primary, primordial, pristine. See prime.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR primeval ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

pri·me·val·ly, adverb

Can be confused

primal primeval primordial

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for primeval

The landscape here, like all of Iceland, has a primeval majesty.
Want to Write a Book? Go to Iceland|Adam LeBor|May 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The longing for a product that we have not yet experienced strikes some primeval need, particularly in Americans.
‘A Lifetime of Experience’ May Hinder Hillary Clinton in 2016|Stuart Stevens|July 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The scene of the picnic was a tract of primeval forest some ten miles away.
The Hall and the Grange|Archibald Marshall
There had been from of old cosmogonies, theories as to how the world had taken shape out of primeval chaos.
The Voice of Science in Nineteenth-Century Literature|Various

The alluvial deposit from primeval lakes contributed to fatten the soil of other parts of the prairies.
The Frontier in American History|Frederick Jackson Turner
Where have we to seek the primeval home of this most vigorous and dominant branch of the human family?
Man, Past and Present|Agustus Henry Keane
At its foot was a pond, rich in mud of primeval blackness, and well stocked with turtles and "green-leapers."
The Believing Years|Edmund Lester Pearson

British Dictionary definitions for primeval

primeval

primaeval

/ (praɪˈmiːvəl) /

adjective

of or belonging to the first age or ages, esp of the world

Derived Forms

primevally or primaevally, adverb

Word Origin for primeval

C17: from Latin prīmaevus youthful, from prīmus first + aevum age

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012