prim·i·tive (pr m -tv)adj. 1. Not derived from something else; primary or basic. 2. a. Of or relating to an earliest or original stage or state; primeval. b. Being little evolved from an early ancestral type. 3. Characterized by simplicity or crudity; unsophisticated: primitive weapons. See Synonyms at rude. 4. Anthropology Of or relating to a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially one that is characterized by a low level of economic complexity: primitive societies. 5. Linguistics a. Serving as the basis for derived or inflected forms: Pick is the primitive word from which picket is derived. b. Being a protolanguage: primitive Germanic. 6. Relating or belonging to forces of nature; elemental: primitive passions. 7. a. Of or created by an artist without formal training; simple or naive in style. b. Of or relating to the work of an artist from a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially a culture that is characterized by a low level of economic complexity. 8. Of or relating to late medieval or pre-Renaissance European painters or sculptors. 9. Biology Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution. n. 1. Anthropology A person belonging to a nonindustrial, often tribal society, especially a society characterized by a low level of economic complexity. 2. An unsophisticated person. 3. One that is at a low or early stage of development. 4. a. One belonging to an early stage in the development of an artistic trend, especially a painter of the pre-Renaissance period. b. An artist having or affecting a simple, direct, unschooled style, as of painting. c. A self-taught artist. d. A work of art created by a primitive artist. 5. Linguistics a. A word or word element from which another word is derived by morphological or historical processes or from which inflected forms are derived. b. A basic and indivisible unit of linguistic analysis. Also called prime. 6. Mathematics An algebraic or geometric expression from which another expression is derived. 7. Computer Science A basic or fundamental unit of machine instruction or translation. [Middle English, from Old French primitif, primitive, from Latin pr  mitvus, from prmitus, at first, from prmus, first; see per1 in Indo-European roots.]prim i·tive·ly adv.prim i·tive·ness, prim i·tivi·ty n. |
primitive [ˈprɪmɪtɪv]
adj
1. of or belonging to the first or beginning; original
2. characteristic of an early state, esp in being crude or uncivilized a primitive dwelling
3. (Social Science / Anthropology & Ethnology) Anthropol denoting or relating to a preliterate and nonindustrial social system
4. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Biology) Biology
a. of, relating to, or resembling an early stage in the evolutionary development of a particular group of organisms primitive amphibians
b. another word for primordial [3]
5. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) showing the characteristics of primitive painters; untrained, childlike, or naive
6. (Earth Sciences / Geological Science) Geology pertaining to magmas that have experienced only small degrees of fractional crystallization or crystal contamination
7. (Earth Sciences / Geological Science) Obsolete of, relating to, or denoting rocks formed in or before the Palaeozoic era
8. (Linguistics) Obsolete denoting a word from which another word is derived, as for example hope, from which hopeless is derived
9. (Christian Religious Writings / Theology) Protestant theol of, relating to, or associated with a minority group that breaks away from a sect, denomination, or Church in order to return to what is regarded as the original simplicity of the Gospels
n
1. a primitive person or thing
2. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms)
a. an artist whose work does not conform to traditional, academic, or avant-garde standards of Western painting, such as a painter from an African or Oceanic civilization
b. a painter of the pre-Renaissance era in European painting
c. a painter of any era whose work appears childlike or untrained Also called (for senses 11a, 11c) naive
3. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) a work by such an artist
4. (Linguistics) a word or concept from which another word or concept is derived
5. (Mathematics) Maths a curve, function, or other form from which another is derived
[from Latin prīmitīvus earliest of its kind, primitive, from prīmus first]
primitively adv
primitiveness n
| primitive (prm-tv) 1. Relating to an early or original stage. 2. Having evolved very little from an early type. Lampreys and sturgeon are primitive fishes. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  primitive - a person who belongs to an early stage of civilizationindividual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" Indo-European, Aryan - a member of the prehistoric people who spoke Proto-Indo European autochthon - the earliest known inhabitants of a region Basket Maker - early Amerindians related to the Pueblo; known for skill in making baskets Heidelberg man, Homo heidelbergensis - a type of primitive man who lived in Europe ape-man, missing link - hypothetical organism formerly thought to be intermediate between apes and human beings Mound Builder - prehistoric Amerindians who built altar mounds Piltdown hoax, Piltdown man - a supposedly primitive man later proven to be a hoax |
| 2. | primitive - a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived formula, expression - a group of symbols that make a mathematical statement | |
| 3. | primitive - a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms; "`pick' is the primitive from which `picket' is derived" word - a unit of language that native speakers can identify; "words are the blocks from which sentences are made"; "he hardly said ten words all morning" | |
| Adj. | 1. | primitive - belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness; "the crude weapons and rude agricultural implements of early man"; "primitive movies of the 1890s"; "primitive living conditions in the Appalachian mountains" early - being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer" |
| 2. |  primitive - little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type; "archaic forms of life"; "primitive mammals"; "the okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe"early - being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer" | |
| 3. | primitive - used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies; "primitive societies" anthropology - the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings noncivilised, noncivilized - not having a high state of culture and social development | |
| 4. | primitive - of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style; "primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking" beaux arts, fine arts - the study and creation of visual works of art untrained - not disciplined or conditioned or made adept by training; "an untrained voice"; "untrained troops"; "young minds untrained in the habit of concentration" |
primitive
adjective
1. uncivilized, savage, barbarian, barbaric, undeveloped, uncultivated studies of primitive societies
uncivilized developed, civilized
uncivilized developed, civilized
2. early, first, earliest, original, primary, elementary, pristine, primordial, primeval primitive birds from the dinosaur era
early later, modern, advanced
early later, modern, advanced
3. simple, naive, childlike, untrained, undeveloped, unsophisticated, untutored primitive art
simple trained, developed, adult, mature, sophisticated, tutored
simple trained, developed, adult, mature, sophisticated, tutored
Translations
primitive [ˈprɪmɪtɪv]
A. ADJ (gen) → primitivo; (= old-fashioned) → anticuado; (= basic) → rudimentario, básico; (= uncivilized) → inculto; (= sordid) → miserable (Art) → primitivo
B. N (Art) (= artist) → primitivista mf; (= work) → obra f primitivista
primitive [ˈprɪmɪtɪv] adj
[society, people, tribe, tool] → primitif/ive
[instinct, creature] → primitif/ive
[state, conditions, technology] → rudimentaire
primitive [ˈprɪmɪtɪv] adj & n → primitivo/a
primitive [ˈprɪmɪtɪv] adj & n → primitivo/a
primitive [ˈprɪmɪtɪv] adj & n → primitivo/a
adj primitive [ˈprimətiv]
1 belonging to the earliest times primitive stone tools. primitief بِدائي първобитен primitivní primitiv; tidlig urzeitlich πρωτόγονος primitivo primitiivne باستانی alkukantainen primitif קַדמוֹן आदिम, आदि ősi primitif frumstæður primitivo 原始の 원시의 primityvus primitīvs; pirmatnējs primitif primitief primitiv prymitywny primitivo primitiv первобытный primitívny prvobiten primitvni primitiv, ursprunglig ซึ่งเป็นยุคแรก ilkel 原始的 первісний ابتدائي زمانے کا nguyên thuỷ 原始的
2 simple or rough He made a primitive boat out of some pieces of wood. primitief, eenvoudig بَسيط، ساذِج прост jednoduchý, primitivní simpel; primitiv primitiv πρωτόγονος primitivo, rudimentario algeline ساده و زمخت alkeellinen primitif פְּרִימִיטִיבִי साधारण, अनगढ़ egyszerű, primitív sederhana frumstæður primitivo, rudimentale 素朴な 단순한 primityvus, paprastas primitīvs, ļoti vienkāršs ringkas dan kasar primitief enkel, røff, primitiv prymitywny primitivo primitiv, rudimentar примитивный jednoduchý, primitívny preprost primitivan primitiv ที่ไม่ซับซ้อน basit 簡單的 простий, грубий سادہ thô sơ 简单的
primitive → بدائي primitivní primitiv primitiv πρωτόγονος primitivo alkeellinen primitif primitivan primitivo 初期の 원시적인 primitief primitiv pierwotny primitivo примитивный primitiv แบบดั้งเดิม ilkel sơ khai 原始的
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