prime

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Contents

English [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

From Old French prime, from Latin primus (“first”), from Old Latin pri (“before”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“beyond, before”).

EB1911 - Volume 01 - Page 001 - 1.svg This entry lacks etymological information. If you are familiar with the origin of this term, please add it to the page as described here.
Particularly: “how did the symbol get its name?”

Adjective [edit]

prime (not comparable)

  1. First in importance, degree, or rank.
    Our prime concern here is to keep the community safe.
  2. First in time, order, or sequence
    Both the English and French governments established prime meridians in their capitals.
  3. First in excellence, quality, or value.
    This is a prime location for a bookstore.
  4. (mathematics, lay) Having exactly two integral factors: itself and unity (1 in the case of integers).
    Thirteen is a prime number.
  5. (mathematics, technical) Such that if it divides a product, it divides one of the multiplicands.
  6. (mathematics) Having its complement closed under multiplication: said only of ideals.
Synonyms [edit]
Related terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

first in time, order, or sequence
first in excellence, quality, or value
mathematics: having no factors except itself and unity
first in importance, degree, or rank
mathematics: Having its complement closed under multiplication
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun [edit]

prime (plural primes)

  1. (Christianity, historical) One of the daily offices of prayer of the Western Church, associated with the early morning (typically 6 a.m.).
  2. (obsolete) The early morning.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.vi:
      They all as glad, as birdes of ioyous Prime […].
  3. (now rare) The earliest stage of something.
  4. The most active, thriving, or successful stage or period.
  5. The chief or best individual or part.
  6. (music) The first note or tone of a musical scale.
  7. (fencing) The first defensive position, with the sword hand held at head height, and the tip of the sword at head height.
  8. (algebra, number theory) A prime element of a mathematical structure, particularly a prime number.
    3 is a prime.
  9. (card games) A four-card hand containing one card of each suit in the game of primero; the opposite of a flush in poker.
  10. (backgammon) Six consecutive blocks, which prevent the opponent's pieces from passing.
    I'm threatening to build a prime here.
  11. The symbol: ′
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
earliest stage
most active, thriving, or successful stage or period
chief or best individual or part
music: first note or tone of a musical scale
fencing: first position of thrust and parry
algebra: prime element of a mathematical structure
backgammon: six consecutive blocks
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2 [edit]

Origin uncertain; perhaps related to primage.

Verb [edit]

prime (third-person singular simple present primes, present participle priming, simple past and past participle primed)

  1. (transitive) To prepare a mechanism for its main work.
    You'll have to press this button twice to prime the fuel pump.
  2. (transitive) To apply a coat of primer paint to.
    I need to prime these handrails before we can apply the finish coat.
  3. (obsolete, intransitive) To be renewed.
    • Quarles
      Night's bashful empress, though she often wane, / As oft repeats her darkness, primes again.
  4. (intransitive) To serve as priming for the charge of a gun.
  5. (intransitive, of a steam boiler) To work so that foaming occurs from too violent ebullition, which causes water to become mixed with, and be carried along with, the steam that is formed.
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
to prepare a mechanism
to apply a coat of primer paint to
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

Derived terms [edit]

Related terms [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Oxford-Paravia Concise - Dizionario Inglese-Italiano e Italiano-Inglese (in collaborazione con Oxford University Press). Edited by Maria Cristina Bareggi. Torino: Paravia, 2003. ISBN 8839551107. Online version here

French [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

prime f (plural primes)

  1. reward; prize; bonus

Anagrams [edit]

Interlingua [edit]

Adjective [edit]

prime

  1. first

Italian [edit]

Adjective [edit]

prime f pl

  1. feminine plural form of primo

Anagrams [edit]

Latin [edit]

Numeral [edit]

prīme

  1. vocative masculine singular of prīmus

Romanian [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: [ˈpri.me]

Adjective [edit]

prime

  1. feminine pluralnominative form of prim
  2. feminine pluralaccusative form of prim
  3. neuter pluralnominative form of prim
  4. neuter pluralaccusative form of prim

Spanish [edit]

Verb [edit]

prime (infinitive primar)

  1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of primar.
  2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of primar.
  3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of primar.

Tarantino [edit]

Adjective [edit]

prime

  1. first
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