adjective constituting a beginning; giving origin to something derived or developed; original; elementary: primordial forms of life.
Embryology first formed.
pertaining to or existing at or from the very beginning: primordial matter.
Origin of primordial 1350–1400; Middle English <
Late Latin prīmōrdiālis of the beginning. See
primordium ,
-al1 Related forms pri·mor·di·al·i·ty [prahy-mawr-dee-al -i-tee] /praɪˌmɔr diˈæl ɪ ti/ noun pri·mor·di·al·ly , adverb Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for primordial pristine ,
primal ,
primeval ,
prehistoric ,
primitive ,
basic ,
early ,
elemental ,
first ,
fundamental ,
original ,
primary ,
prime ,
radical Examples from the Web for primordial Contemporary Examples of primordial Sliding around beneath the surface of Los Angeles is something dark, primordial , and without form.
He is rather drawn to figures in pain, to the primordial , and to gloom.
One predicted side effect of inflation is primordial gravitational waves: twisty ripples in the structure of the Universe.
By now a calm had settled over him, a kind of primordial survival instinct, he believes.
Jung argued that horror touches on primordial images in the collective unconscious.
Historical Examples of primordial But all these primordial forms grow--develop into vital activity.
They live in the crude, primordial fashion of their forefathers.
Now, we cannot get away from a difference so fundamental, so primordial as this.
All the primordial brute in these men was glowing in their hearts.
First of all Thales thought that water was the primordial substance of all things.
British Dictionary definitions for primordial adjective existing at or from the beginning; earliest; primeval
constituting an origin; fundamental
biology of or relating to an early stage of development primordial germ cells
Show More
noun an elementary or basic principle
Show More
Derived Forms primordiality , noun primordially , adverb Word Origin for primordial C14: from Late Latin prīmōrdiālis original, from Latin prīmus first + ōrdīrī to begin
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
Word Origin and History for primordial adj. late 14c., from Late Latin primordialis "first of all, original," from Latin primordium "a beginning, the beginning, origin, commencement," from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)) + stem of ordiri "to begin" (see order (n.)). Related: Primordially .
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
primordial [prī-môr′ dē-əl]
adj. Being or happening first in sequence of time; primary; original.
Belonging to or characteristic of the earliest stage of development of an organism or part.
Relating to a primordium.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
