- pri|ma|ry
- pri|ma|ry «PRY MEHR ee, -muhr-», adjective, noun, plural -ries.–adj.1. first, as in order, time, or place: »
a primary layer of tissue, the primary causes of unemployment.
SYNONYM(S): See syn. under elementary. (Cf. ↑elementary)2. first in importance; chief: »a primary task. Education is the primary purpose of a school. A balanced diet is primary to good health.
SYNONYM(S): principal, prime.3. from which others have come; original; fundamental: »The historian searched for primary sources of information about the past.
4. Electricity. denoting or having to do with the inducing circuit, coil, or current in an induction coil or the like.5. Chemistry. a) characterized by the replacement of a single atom or group. b) formed by replacing a single atom or group.6. Geology. a) formed or developed directly from magma: »a primary rock or ore.
b) Obsolete. Archeozoic.7. Grammar. a) (of word structure) consisting of a single free morpheme (boy) or of two or more bound morphemes (receive). b) (of suffixes) added directly to an unanalyzable root. c) (of tenses in certain older Indo-European languages) expressing present or future time.8. utilizing the crude products of nature as raw materials: »Some industries also are classed as primary (Finch and Trewartha).
9. Metallurgy. derived from ore rather than from a combination of ore and scrap or from scrap alone.–n.1. anything that is first in order, rank, or importance.2. an election in which members of a political party choose candidates for office; primary election. Primaries are held before the regular election.3. = primary color. (Cf. ↑primary color)4. a primary coil or circuit.5. a heavenly body around which another revolves.6. = primary feather. (Cf. ↑primary feather)7. a cosmic-ray particle traveling at high velocity that is commonly stopped on entering the earth's atmosphere by collision with an atom of other matter, the collision resulting in the formation of a number of secondary particles.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
