primitive

English

Alternative forms

• primative (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English primitif, from Old French primitif, from Latin prīmitīvus (“first or earliest of its kind”), from prīmus (“first”); see prime. Doublet of primitivo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɹɪmɪtɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪmɪtɪv
• Hyphenation: prim‧i‧tive

Noun

primitive (plural primitives)

1. (linguistics) An original or primary word; a word not derived from another, as opposed to derivative.
2. A member of a primitive society.
3. A simple-minded person.
4. (computing, programming) A data type that is built into the programming language, as opposed to more complex structures.
5. (computing, programming) Any of the simplest elements (instructions, statements, etc.) available in a programming language.
6. A basic geometric shape from which more complex shapes can be constructed.
7. (mathematics) A function whose derivative is a given function; an antiderivative.

Synonyms

• word: primitive word, radical, radical word

Translations

linguistics: word not derived from another

• Finnish: kantasana (fi)
• French: primitif (fr) m
• German: Wortstamm (de) & Stamm (de), Stammwort (de), Urwort (de), ursprüngliches Wort, Wurzelwort, Wortwurzel (de) & Wurzel (de); Primitivum, Radicalwort, Radix
• Latin: primitivum n, vocabulum primitivum n, vox primitiva f, radix f
• Russian: примити́в (ru) m (primitív)
• Spanish: primitivo (es) m

member from a primitive society

• Finnish: alkukantainen ihminen
• French: primitif (fr) m, primitive (fr) f
• Greek: πρωτόγονος (el) m (protógonos)
• Portuguese: primitivo (pt) m
• Russian: первобы́тный челове́к m (pervobýtnyj čelovék)
• Turkish: ilkel insan

simple-minded person

• Bulgarian: примитив m (primitiv)
• Finnish: yksinkertainen ihminen
• Portuguese: primitivo (pt) m

computing: data type

• Finnish: primitiivi
• French: primitive (fr) f
• Greek: αρχέγονος (el) m (archégonos), αρχέγονος τύπος δεδομένων (el) m (archégonos týpos dedoménon)
• Polish: prymityw (pl) m
• Portuguese: primitiva f
• Russian: примити́в (ru) m (primitív)

computing: simplest elements

• Esperanto: primitiva komando

mathematics: function — see antiderivative

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Catalan: ^{(please verify)} primitiu (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 原始 (zh) (yuanshi)

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} primitief (nl)
• French: ^{(please verify)} primitif (fr)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} primitivo (it) sg, ^{(please verify)} primitivi (it) pl
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 原始 (ja) (げんし, genshi)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 원시 (ko) (wonsi)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} primitivo (es) m
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} ilkel (tr)

Adjective

primitive (comparative more primitive, superlative most primitive)

1. Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first.

   primitive innocence;   the primitive church

   • 1895, Edmund Montgomery, “To Be Alive, What is it?”, in The Monist:

     it is from such primitive beings that the highest organisms now extant are the marvellously developed descendants

2. Of or pertaining to or harking back to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity.

   Synonym: backwards

   a primitive style of dress

   • 1959, Mircea Eliade; Willard R. Trask, transl., “Introduction”, in The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (Harvest Book; HB 144), New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace & World, →ISBN, page 11:

     It could be said that the history of religions—from the most primitive to the most highly developed—is constituted by a great number of hierophanies, by manifestations of sacred realities.

   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 4, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎^[1]:

     By some paradoxical evolution rancour and intolerance have been established in the vanguard of primitive Christianity. Mrs. Spoker, in common with many of the stricter disciples of righteousness, was as inclement in demeanour as she was cadaverous in aspect.

3. Crude, obsolete.

   primitive ideas

4. (grammar) Original; primary; radical; not derived.

   Synonym: radical

   Antonyms: derivative, derived

   a primitive verb

   • 1831, Noah Webster, Rudiments of English Grammar; Being an Abridgment of the Improved Grammar of the English Language, New-Haven, page 6:

     Division of words. Words are primitive or radical, and derivative or compound.
     Of primitive words. Primitive or radical words are such as cannot be divided, or separated into parts which are significant; as man, hope, bless.

5. (biology) Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.
6. (mathematics) Not derived from another of the same type

   Synonym: imprimitive

7. (linguistics, dated) most recent common ancestor (often hypothetical) of

   Synonym: proto-

   • 1933, Leonard Bloomfield, Language, Henry Holt, page 13:

     We infer that other groups of related languages, such as the Germanic (or the Slavic or the Celtic), which show a similar resemblance, have arisen in the same way; it is only an accident of history that for these groups we have no written records of the earlier state of the language, as it was spoken before the differentiation set in. To these unrecorded languages we give names like Primitive Germanic (Primitive Slavic, Primitive Celtic, and so on).

Derived terms

• AADAOPA
• multiprimitive
• primitive art
• Primitive Irish
• primitiveness

Translations

old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity

• Polish: prymitywny (pl)

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Armenian: պարզունակ (hy) (parzunak)
• Azerbaijani: bəsit (az)
• Belarusian: прыміты́ўны (prymitýŭny)
• Bulgarian: прост (bg) (prost), примитивен (bg) (primitiven)
• Catalan: primitiu (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 原始 (zh) (yuánshǐ)

• Cornish: sempel
• Czech: primitivní (cs)
• Danish: primitiv
• Dutch: primitief (nl)
• Esperanto: primitiva (eo)
• Finnish: alkeellinen (fi)
• French: primitif (fr)
• Galician: primitivo (gl)
• German: ursprünglich (de), primitiv (de)
• Greek: πρωτόγονος (el) (protógonos)
• Hungarian: primitív (hu)
• Italian: primitivo (it)
• Japanese: 原始的 (げんしてき, genshiteki)
• Korean: 원시 (ko) (wonsi)
• Latin: primitivus
• Portuguese: primitivo (pt) m, primitiva f
• Romanian: primitiv (ro)
• Russian: примити́вный (ru) (primitívnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: prȉmitīvan (sh)
• Spanish: primitivo (es)
• Swedish: primitiv (sv)
• Tagalog: baruwang
• Ukrainian: приміти́вний (prymitývnyj)

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁi.mi.tiv/

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

primitive

1. feminine singular of primitif

Etymology 2

By ellipsis of [fonction] primitive.

Noun

primitive f (plural primitives)

1. (mathematics) antiderivative

   Antonym: dérivée

See also

• intégrale

Further reading

• “primitive”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

primitive

1. inflection of primitiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

primitive

1. feminine plural of primitivo

Latin

Adjective

prīmitīve

1. vocative masculine singular of prīmitīvus

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

primitive

1. definite singular of primitiv
2. plural of primitiv

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

primitive

1. definite singular of primitiv
2. plural of primitiv