primordial

English

Etymology

From the Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”). Compare primordium and -al.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɹaɪˈmɔː.di.əl/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /pɹaɪˈmɔɹ.di.əl/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /pɹɑɪˈmoː.di.əl/

Adjective

primordial (not comparable)

1. First, earliest or original.
   • 1859–1860, William Hamilton, edited by H[enry] L[ongueville] Mansel and John Veitch, Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:

     the primordial facts of our intelligent nature

   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light:Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, page 9:

     As an archetypal image of primordial unity, the cosmic egg suggests that there is unity and fragmentation, eternity and time.

2. (biology) Characteristic of the earliest stage of the development of an organism, or relating to a primordium.

   a primordial leaf; a primordial cell

3. Primeval.
4. Of an element or isotope: occurring primordially (on Earth) (i.e. inherited from when the Earth was formed); because it is stable, or radioactive but so long-lived that some is left over from when the Earth was formed. For example, primordial radioisotopes (T = half-life in years) include uranium-235 (T = 7×10⁸), potassium-40 (T = 1.25×10⁹), uranium-238 (T = 4.5×10⁹), and thorium-232 (T = 1.4×10¹⁰).

Derived terms

• primordial black hole
• primordial cell
• primordial chaos
• primordial element
• primordial fluctuations
• primordial ocean
• primordial ooze
• primordial phallus
• primordial sea
• primordial sludge
• primordial soup

Translations

earliest

• Bulgarian: първоначален (bg) (pǎrvonačalen), най-ранен (naj-ranen)
• Catalan: primordial
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 原始的 (yuánshǐ de)

• Dutch: oorspronkelijk (nl), oer- (nl)
• Finnish: alku- (fi), alkuperäinen (fi)
• French: primordial (fr)
• Galician: primordial (gl) m or f
• Georgian: დასაბამიერი (dasabamieri), პირველყოფილი (ṗirvelq̇opili), თავდაპირველი (tavdaṗirveli), ოდინდელი (odindeli)
• German: ursprünglich (de), Ur- (de), Frühzeit-, primordial (de)
• Greek: αρχέγονος (el) m (archégonos), πρωταρχικός (el) m (protarchikós)
• Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁיתִי (he) m (bereshití)
• Hungarian: ősi (hu)
• Icelandic: frum-, upprunalegur (is) m, upphafs-
• Italian: primordiale (it)
• Japanese: 原初の (げんしょの, gensho no)
• Kazakh: әдепкі (ädepkı)
• Polish: pierwotny (pl) m, początkowy (pl)
• Portuguese: primordial (pt)
• Russian: изнача́льный (ru) (iznačálʹnyj)
• Spanish: primordial (es)
• Swedish: ursprunglig (sv)
• Turkish: esasî, ilk (tr), kökensel (tr)
• Ukrainian: пе́рві́сний (pérvísnyj)

primeval

• Esperanto: praa (eo)

Noun

primordial (plural primordials)

1. A first principle or element.

Translations

first principle or element

• Greek: πρωτογενής (el) m (protogenís)

French

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁi.mɔʁ.djal/

Adjective

primordial (feminine primordiale, masculine plural primordiaux, feminine plural primordiales)

1. primordial, primitive, original

   Synonyms: originel, primitif

   soupe primordiale ― primordial soup

2. vital, essential, paramount, of paramount importance

   Synonyms: capital, essentiel

Derived terms

• primordialement

Further reading

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

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

primordial (strong nominative masculine singular primordialer, not comparable)

1. primordial

Declension

Positive forms of primordial (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist primordial	sie ist primordial	es ist primordial	sie sind primordial
strong declension (without article)	nominative	primordialer	primordiale	primordiales	primordiale
	genitive	primordialen	primordialer	primordialen	primordialer
	dative	primordialem	primordialer	primordialem	primordialen
	accusative	primordialen	primordiale	primordiales	primordiale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der primordiale	die primordiale	das primordiale	die primordialen
	genitive	des primordialen	der primordialen	des primordialen	der primordialen
	dative	dem primordialen	der primordialen	dem primordialen	den primordialen
	accusative	den primordialen	die primordiale	das primordiale	die primordialen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein primordialer	eine primordiale	ein primordiales	(keine) primordialen
	genitive	eines primordialen	einer primordialen	eines primordialen	(keiner) primordialen
	dative	einem primordialen	einer primordialen	einem primordialen	(keinen) primordialen
	accusative	einen primordialen	eine primordiale	ein primordiales	(keine) primordialen

Further reading

• “primordial” in Duden online
• “primordial” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch primordiaal (“primordial”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /primorˈdial/ [pri.morˈdi.al]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: pri‧mor‧di‧al

Adjective

primordial

1. primordial

Further reading

• “primordial” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /pɾi.moʁ.d͡ʒiˈaw/ [pɾi.moɦ.d͡ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /pɾi.moʁˈd͡ʒjaw/ [pɾi.moɦˈd͡ʒjaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /pɾi.moʁ.d͡ʒiˈaw/ [pɾi.moɦ.d͡ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /pɾi.moʁˈd͡ʒjaw/ [pɾi.moɦˈd͡ʒjaʊ̯]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /pɾi.moɾ.d͡ʒiˈaw/ [pɾi.moɾ.d͡ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /pɾi.moɾˈd͡ʒjaw/ [pɾi.moɾˈd͡ʒjaʊ̯]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /pɾi.moʁ.d͡ʒiˈaw/ [pɾi.moʁ.d͡ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /pɾi.moʁˈd͡ʒjaw/ [pɾi.moʁˈd͡ʒjaʊ̯]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /pɾi.moɻ.d͡ʒiˈaw/ [pɾi.moɻ.d͡ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /pɾi.moɻˈd͡ʒjaw/ [pɾi.moɻˈd͡ʒjaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɾi.muɾˈdjal/ [pɾi.muɾˈðjaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɾi.muɾˈdjal/ [pɾi.muɾˈðjaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /pɾi.muɾˈdja.li/ [pɾi.muɾˈðja.li]

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: pri‧mor‧di‧al

Adjective

primordial m or f (plural primordiais)

1. primordial (first, earliest or original)

   Synonym: primeiro

2. primary, main, paramount

   Synonyms: capital, essencial, importante

   • 1982, Bernardo Soares, Livro do Desassossego, Vol.II:

     Em mim o que há de primordial é o hábito e o jeito de sonhar.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• primordialmente

Related terms

• primórdio

Further reading

• “primordial”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French primordial. By surface analysis, primordiu +‎ -al.

Adjective

primordial m or n (feminine singular primordială, masculine plural primordiali, feminine and neuter plural primordiale)

1. primeval

Declension

Declension of primordial

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	primordial		primordială		primordiali	primordiale
	definite	primordialul		primordiala		primordialii	primordialele
genitive- dative	indefinite	primordial		primordiale		primordiali	primordiale
	definite	primordialului		primordialei		primordialilor	primordialelor

Related terms

• primordialitate

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”). Cognate with English primordial.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɾimoɾˈdjal/ [pɾi.moɾˈð̞jal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: pri‧mor‧dial

Adjective

primordial m or f (masculine and feminine plural primordiales)

1. primordial
2. primary, paramount

Derived terms

• primordialmente

Related terms

• primordio

Further reading

• “primordial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10