primordial
Americanadjective
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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.
adjective
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existing at or from the beginning; earliest; primeval
-
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.
Once he’s managed to hurl himself past the surf to rest atop an underwater cliff, the darkness below is as scary as if we’d regressed into primordial prey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
We used the hydrogen formation history found through these simulations to compute predictions for how cosmic microwave background should appear if there were primordial magnetic fields, and tested these predictions against observations of the background.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026
"Having the brain as one organ would probably be more efficient, but we rely on this primordial way to make the brain as two separate pieces."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
In Gilt, there were the right ingredients for a primordial soup of entrepreneurship: a hot company capable of attracting the best talent, Ryan said—and then it was sold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
But since gravity would draw primordial black holes toward any matter, they should be much more common in and around galaxies.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
