The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Primitive \Prim"i*tive\, a. [L. primitivus, fr. primus the
first: cf. F. primitif. See Prime, a.]
1. Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early
times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as,
primitive innocence; the primitive church. "Our primitive
great sire." --Milton.
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2. Of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned;
characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of
dress.
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3. Original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive
verb in grammar.
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Primitive axes of coordinate (Geom.), that system of axes
to which the points of a magnitude are first referred,
with reference to a second set or system, to which they
are afterward referred.
Primitive chord (Mus.), that chord, the lowest note of
which is of the same literal denomination as the
fundamental base of the harmony; -- opposed to derivative.
--Moore (Encyc. of Music).
Primitive circle (Spherical Projection), the circle cut
from the sphere to be projected, by the primitive plane.
Primitive colors (Paint.), primary colors. See under
Color.
Primitive Fathers (Eccl.), the acknowledged Christian
writers who flourished before the Council of Nice, A. D.
325. --Shipley.
Primitive groove (Anat.), a depression or groove in the
epiblast of the primitive streak. It is not connected with
the medullary groove, which appears later and in front of
it.
Primitive plane (Spherical Projection), the plane upon
which the projections are made, generally coinciding with
some principal circle of the sphere, as the equator or a
meridian.
Primitive rocks (Geol.), primary rocks. See under
Primary.
Primitive sheath. (Anat.) See Neurilemma.
Primitive streak or Primitive trace (Anat.), an opaque
and thickened band where the mesoblast first appears in
the vertebrate blastoderm.
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Syn: First; original; radical; pristine; ancient; primeval;
antiquated; old-fashioned.
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