Dictionary.com

primordial

[ prahy-mawr-dee-uhl ]
/ praɪˈmɔr di əl /
See synonyms for primordial on Thesaurus.com

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.

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Origin of primordial

1350–1400; Middle English <Late Latin prīmōrdiālis of the beginning. See primordium, -al1

OTHER WORDS FROM primordial

pri·mor·di·al·i·ty [prahy-mawr-dee-al-i-tee], /praɪˌmɔr diˈæl ɪ ti/, nounpri·mor·di·al·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH primordial

primal, primeval, primordial
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to primordial

pristine, primal, primeval, prehistoric, primitive, basic, early, elemental, first, fundamental, original, primary, prime, radical

Example sentences from the Web for primordial

  • She had fought desperately, primordially, when 105 she had learned that her errand of mercy was nothing more than a cruel hoax.

    The Place of Honeymoons|Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for primordial

primordial
/ (praɪˈmɔːdɪəl) /

adjective

existing at or from the beginning; earliest; primeval
constituting an origin; fundamental
biology of or relating to an early stage of developmentprimordial germ cells

noun

an elementary or basic principle

Derived forms of primordial

primordiality, nounprimordially, 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

Medical definitions for primordial

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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.