prim or precise 
The state or condition 
primitively 
Solemnities and ceremonies primitively enjoined were 
afterwards omitted, the occasion ceasing. Sir T. Browne. 
2. Primarily; not derivatively. 3. According 
to the original rule or oldest practice; in the 
ancient or antique style. 
The best, the purest, and most primitively ordered church 
in the world. South, Sermons, VI. 117. 
primitiveness (prim'i-tiy-nes), n. The state of 
being^ primitive or original; antiquity; con- 
formity to antiquity. 
primitivity (priin-i-tiv'i-ti), . [X primitive + 
-ity.'] The character of being primitive : thus, 
in mathematics we speak of the primitirityot a 
form. 
Oh! lean tell you, theageof fleorge the Second is likely 
to be celebrated for moreprimiiimty than the disinterest- 
edness of Mr. Deard. Walpole, To Mann, Aug. 8, 1759. 
primityt (prim'i-ti), . [< L. primus, first, + 
-ity.} The state of being original or first ; primi- 
tiveness. 
This primity Odd requires to he attributed to himself . 
Up. Pearsoit, Expos, of Creed, L 
primly (prim'H), adr. In a 
manner ; with primness. 
primness (prim nes), . 
of being prim or for- 
mal; affected niceness 
or preciseness. 
The stiff unalterable 
primness of his long cravat. 
Gentleman's Mag., 1746. 
Primnoa (priin'iio-ft), 
. [NL. (Lamarck, 
1812).] The typical 
genus of Primnoidx. 
primnoid(prim'no-id), 
H. A polyp of the fam- 
ily Primnoiilx. 
Pr'imnoidae (prim-no'- 
i-de), n. pi. [NL., < 
Primnoa + -idx.] A 
family of gorgonia- 
ceous alcyonarian pol- 
yps, typified by the ge- 
nus Primnoa. 
primo (pre'rno). [It., 
< L. primus, first: see 
prime."] In music, a 
first or principal part, 
as in duets or trios. 
Tempo primo, at the first or original tempo or pace : 
used after a passage in some other tempo than the first 
primogenialt (pri-mo-je'ui-al), a. An errone- 
ous form of primiyenial. 
The primogenial light which at first was diff used over 
the face of the unfashion'd chaos. 
Glamille, Vanity of Dogmatizing, I. 
Noon stands eternal here : here may thy sight 
Drink in the rays of primogenial light. 
, Paradise. 
Primnoa reseda, 
(One sixteenth natural size.) 
primogenital (pri-mo-jen'i-tal), . [< L.jpn- 
mogetiita, the rights of the first-born (see pri- 
mogeniture), + -al. Cf. LL. primogenitalis, ori- 
ginal.] Primogenitary. 
Those garments Rebecca put on Jacob, his sacerdotal 
vestment ; but it was still tne primogenital right, till a 
family separated. Evelyn, True Religion, II. 21. 
Genesis, as a fundamental factor in evolution, may be 
more intelligently considered under some of its subordi- 
nate phases, as heredity, physiological selection, sexual 
selection, primogenital selection, sexual differentiation, 
including philoprogeneity, hybridlty, etc. 
Science, XII. 124. 
primogenitary (pri-mo-jen'i-ta-ri), a. [< L. 
primogenita, the lights of the first-born (see pri- 
mogeniture), + -ary.~\ Of or belonging to pri- 
mogeniture, or the rights of the first-born. 
They do not explicitly condemn a limited monarchy, 
but evidently adopt his scheme of primogenitary right, 
which is perhaps almost incompatible with it Hattam. 
primogenitive (pri-mo-jen'i-tiv), a. and . [< 
L. primogenita, the rights of the first-born (see 
primogeniture), + -ive.~\ I. a. Relating to pri- 
mogeniture. 
H.t . Primogeniture; right of primogeni- 
ture. 
The primogenitive and due of birth. 
Shot., T. and C., L S. 106. 
primogenitor (pri-mo-jen'i-tor), ii. [= Pg. pri- 
mogenitor = \\.primogenitore, primogenitor (cf. 
ML. primogenitor, first-born), < L. primus, first, 
+ genitor, a parent, a father, < genere, gignere, 
beget, bring forth.] A forefather ; an ancestor. 
If your primogenitors be not belied, the general smutch 
you have was once of a deeper black, when they came 
from Mauritania into Spain. 
Gaytnn, Notes mi Don Quixote. 
( inr primoqenilors passed their days among trees. 
Pcnntylmnia School Jour., XXXII. 382. 
4727 
primogeniture (pri-mo-jen'i-Jur), n. [= F. 
primogeniture = Pr. Sp. Pg. It. primogenitura, 
< ML. primogenitura, primogeniture, < L. pri- 
mogenita, the rights of the first-born, birthright, 
neut. pi. of primogenitus, first-born, < primo, 
first, in the first place (abl. neut. of primus, 
first), + genitus, pp. of gignere, bring forth : see 
gcniture.] 1. The state of being the first-born 
among children of the same parents ; seniority 
by birth. 
Aristodemus . . . died leaving twin Bong, Eurysthenes 
and Procles ; their mother refusing to determine which 
had the right of primogeniture, it wan agreed that both 
should succeed to the crown with equal authority. 
J. Adam*, Works, IV. 549. 
2. Descent to the eldest son ; the principle or 
right by which (under the Norman law intro- 
duced into England) the oldest son of a family 
succeeds to the father's real estate in prefer- 
ence to, and to the absolute exclusion of, the 
younger sons and daughters. The ancient custom* 
of gavelklnd and borough-English form exceptions to the 
general rule of law as to primogeniture. (See gavrlkind 
and borough- English.) In the modified form of the law 
of primogeniture now existing in England, the law, If left 
to operate, carries the land of a person dying to male 
heirs singly, In succession preferring the eldest, hut to 
female heirs equally in common, and carries personalty 
to wife and children with no preference for the eldest sou. 
He was the flrst.born of the Almighty, and so, by the 
title of primogeniture, heir of all things. 
South, Sermons, IV. \ 
The abolition of primogeniture, and equal partition of 
inheritances, removed the feudal and unnatural distinc- 
tions which made one member of every family rich and 
all the rest poor, substituting equal partition, the best of 
all agrarian laws. Jefferson, Autobiog., p. 40. 
Primogeniture, as we know It in our law, had rather a 
political than a civil origin, and comes from the authority 
of the feudal lord and probably from that of the tribal 
chief ; but here and there on the Continent there are traces 
of it as a civil institution, and in such cases the succession 
of the eldest son does not exclude provision for the younger 
sons by what are called appanages. 
Maine, Early Law and Custom, p. 261. 
Representative primogeniture, the rule of feudal in- 
heritance by which the Issue of a deceased child were re- 
garded as standing in the place of that child, subject to 
the same preference of males over females among them, 
and of elder over younger males among them, as obtained 
among children inheriting directly : so that, If an elder 
son died leaving sons and daughters, the eldest of the sons 
would take what his faUier, if living, would have taken, 
priniogenitureship (pri-mo-jen'i-tur-ship), n. 
[< primogeniture T -ship.] The state or right 
of a first-born son. 
By the aristocratlcal law of primogenitureship in a family 
of six children, five are exposed. Aristocracy has never 
but one child. liurltr, Appeal to the Old Whigs. 
primordia, w. Plural of primordium. 
primordial (pri-mor'di-al), a. and H. [< ME. 
prymordiall (n.), < OF. (also F. ) primordial = 
Pr. Sp. Pg. primordial = Jt.primordiale, < ML. 
primordiali$,(. LL. primordialix, original, that is 
first of all, < L. primordium, pi. primordia, ori- 
gin, beginnings: see primordium.} I. a. 1. First 
primrose 
Cle, in but. , the layer of somewhat denier protoplasm which 
lines the inner surface of the wall of a vacuolated cell. 
Primordial zone, the mime given by Barrande to certain 
strata in Bohemia which there contain the lowest fauna, 
pretty nearly the equivalent of the Potsdam sandstone of 
the New York Survey, and of the Cambrian of North Wales, 
In these various regions, as well as In other part* of the 
globe, as In C'hlna and the Cordilleras, the fauna of the 
primordial tone is strikingly similar, consisting largely of 
1 1 ili ii .it rs and hrachlopods, certain genera of which appear 
to have had a world-wide distribution. Syn. 1. I'rune, 
eto. See primary. 
II. n. A first principle or element. 
The primordial* of the world are not mechanical, but 
spermatlcal and vital. Dr. U. Mare, Divine Dialogue!. 
Primordialidse (pri-indr-di-al'i-de), n.pl. [NL., 
< LL. priniordialis, primordial, + -itla.j A fam- 
ily of goniatites, having smooth whorls with 
simple sutures and large divided ventral lobes. 
Hyatt, Proc. Host. 8oc. Nat. Hist., 1883, p. 315. 
primordialism (pri-mdr'di-al-izm), w. [< pri- 
mordial + -!;.] Continuance or observance 
of primitive ceremonies or the like. 
Yet another Indication of primnrdialisni may be named. 
This specie* of control [ceremonial observance] establishes 
itself anew with every fresh relation among Individuals. 
//. Spencer, I'rin. of Sociol., g 343. 
primordiality (pri-mdr-di-al'i-ti), . [< pri- 
mordial + -ity.] The character of being pri- 
mordial, and therefore not derived from any- 
thing else. 
primordially (pri-m&r'di-al-i), arfr. Under the 
first order of things ; at the beginning. 
primordiate(pri-m6r'di-at),. [< "L.primordius, 
original, + -nte 1 .] Original; existing from the 
first. 
Not every thing chymists will call salt, sulphur, or 
spirit, that needs always be a primordiate and Ingenerable 
body. Boylf. 
primordium (pri-mor'di-um), .; pi. primordia 
(-&). [L., commonly in pi. primordia, the be- 
ginning8,<prtmtM, first,-!- ordiri, begin. Cf. ex- 
ordium.] 1. Beginning; commencement; ori- 
gin. Quarterly Her. (Worcester.) 2. In bot., 
the ultimate beginning of any structure. 
primosity (prim-os'i-ti), . [Irreg. < prim' 1 + 
-osity, as in pomposity, etc.] Primness; pru- 
dery. [Rare.] 
I should really like to know what excuse Lord A 
could offer for his primosity to us, when he was riding with 
el as Lad 
such a Jezebel 
ady 
gin, , 
in order; earliest; original; primitive; exist- 
ing from the beginning. 
The primordial tittle of our first parents. 
Dp. Bull, Works, HI. 1102. (Latham.) 
I have sometimes thought that the States In our system 
may be compared to the primordial particles of matter, 
. . . whose natural condition is to repel each other, or, at 
least, to exist in their own Independent Identity. 
K. Choate, Addresses, p. 401. 
I should Infer from analogy that probably all the organic 
beings which have ever lived on this earth havedescended 
from some one primordial form, Into which life was first 
breathed. Darwin, Origin of Spooies, p. 420. 
2. In anat., primitive; formative; in a rudimen- 
tary or embryonic state: opposed to dejinitive,ar 
final, completed, or perfected: as, the primor- 
dial skull of man is partly membranous, partly 
cartilaginous. 
Three pairs of segmental organs, which have only a tem- 
porary existence and have been regarded as primordial 
kidneys, are developed at the posterior end of the body. 
Huxley, Anat Invert., p. 192. 
3. In bot., first formed : applied to the first true 
leaves formed by a young plant, also to the 
first fruit produced on a raceme or spike. 4. 
In geol., containing the earliest traces of life. 
Of all the results of geological and paleontological inves- 
tigation during the past half-century, there is no one so 
remarkable as the revelation of the existence of the so- 
called primordial fauna It is now clearly established 
that there was a time when life was represented by a few 
forms, which were essentially the same all over the globe. 
What has long been known to be true for Europe and Amer- 
ica has been recently supplemented, for Asia, by the in- 
vestigations of Kichthof en in China, where the peculiar pri- 
mordial fauna seems to be largely developed, bearing, as 
Professor Dames remarks, "an astonishing resemblance 
to that of North America and Scandinavia." 
Whitney and Wadsuxnih, The Azoic System, p. 54. 
Primordial cell, in bot.. a cell of the simplest character, 
one which does not possess a cell-wall. Primordial utri- 
Memoirs of Lady Hetter Stanhope, xl. 
primovant (pri-mo'vaut), . In anc. astron., 
that sphere which wiis supposed to carry the 
fixed stars in their daily motions to which all 
the other orbs were attached. See primum mo- 
bile. 
The motion of the primovant (or first equinoctial mo- 
tion). Dee, Mathematical] Pncface (1570). 
primp (primp), r. [A form of prink, imitating 
/!;.] I. trims. To dress or deck (one's self) 
in a formal and affected manner. 
II. intruns. To be formal or affected. [Prov. 
Eng. and Scotch.] 
primprintt (prim'print), n. [Also primeprint, 
primprivet; < prim, prime, + primet.] Same as 
primet. 
That great bushy plant, usually termed privet, or prim- 
print. TopteU, Historic of Serpents, p. 103. (HalliicrU.) 
primprivett, . Same as primprint. Minsheu 
(misprinted yrunprivet). 
primrose (prim'roz), . and a. [< ME. prime- 
rose, prymerose, < OF. primerose, primrose (ac- 
cording to Godefroy, same as panserose, holly- 
hock), as if < L. prima rosa, 'first rose,' but ac- 
tually a substitution for OK. primerole, a prim- 
rose: see primerole. Cf. tuberose, which also 
simulates a connection with rose 2 .] L n. 1 . 
A plant of the genus Primula; especially, a va- 
riety of Primula reris, in which the flowers ap- 
pear as if on separate peduncles, the short com- 
mon stalk being hidden beneath the base of the 
leaves. Several of the best-known specie* and varieties, 
however, have independent names, as auricula, cowslip, 
oxlip, and polyanthus. See cut under Primula. See also 
the phrases below. 
Thou seydest a gerd whnlde sprynge 
Oute of the rote of lentill lease, 
And schulde floure with florisschyng, 
With primerota greet plent. 
Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.X p. 212. 
The primrose placing first, because that In the spring 
It is the first appears, then only flourishing. 
Druyton, Polyolhion, XT. 149. 
A primrose by a river's brim 
A yellow primrose was to him, 
And it was nothing more. 
Wordsworth, Peter Bell, I. 
2. One of a few other plants with some resem- 
blance to the primrose. See the phrases below. 
3f. The first or earliest flower; a springflower. 
