Primary
['praɪm(ə)rɪ] or ['praɪmɛri]
Definition
(noun.) a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen.
(noun.) one of the main flight feathers projecting along the outer edge of a bird's wing.
(noun.) (astronomy) a celestial body (especially a star) relative to other objects in orbit around it.
(adj.) not derived from or reducible to something else; basic; 'a primary instinct' .
(adj.) of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondary; 'primary goals'; 'a primary effect'; 'primary sources'; 'a primary interest' .
Checker: Sherman--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) First in order of time or development or in intention; primitive; fundamental; original.
(a.) First in order, as being preparatory to something higher; as, primary assemblies; primary schools.
(a.) First in dignity or importance; chief; principal; as, primary planets; a matter of primary importance.
(a.) Earliest formed; fundamental.
(a.) Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement.
(n.) That which stands first in order, rank, or importance; a chief matter.
(n.) A primary meeting; a caucus.
(n.) One of the large feathers on the distal joint of a bird's wing. See Plumage, and Illust. of Bird.
(n.) A primary planet; the brighter component of a double star. See under Planet.
Checker: Melva
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. Primitive, aboriginal, original, primordial, primeval, pristine, first.[2]. Chief, principal, leading.[3]. Elementary, lowest.
Typist: Nigel
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:First, original, earliest, elementary, chief, principal, important, leading,primitive, pristine
ANT:Secondary, subordinate, posterior, unimportant, inferior, subsequent, later,[See PRINCIPAL]
Edited by Eva
Definition
adj. first: original: chief: primitive: elementary preparatory.—n. that which is highest in rank or importance: a planet in relation to its satellite or satellites.—adv. Prī′marily.—ns. Prī′mariness the state of being first in time act or intention; Prī′mary-ac′cent the accent immediately after a bar in music.—ns.pl. Prī′mary-col′ours the colours obtained by passing the sun's rays through a prism: the colours of the rainbow—red orange yellow green blue indigo and violet; Prī′mary-plan′ets planets revolving round the sun—not satellites; Prī′mary-quills the largest feathers of a bird's wing; Prī′mary-rocks the rocks which seem to have been first formed and contain no animal remains as granites &c.
Editor: Nancy
Examples
- A continuously operative primary battery. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- They forged the direct primary and the State University out of the impetus within themselves. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The primary duty of this priesthood was concerned with the worship of and the sacrifices to the god of the temple. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- In the previous chapter we found that the primary subject matter of knowing is that contained in learning how to do things of a fairly direct sort. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- And this is right in one sense, as the laws of all countries in respect to protection by patents for inventions are based upon the primary condition of benefit to society. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- It is the same case with most of the primary decisions of the mathematics. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- The nerve fibers of the eye which carry the sensation of color to the brain are particularly sensitive to the primary colors--red, green, blue. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Nothing remains to us but that universal or primary science of which all the arts and sciences are partakers, I mean number or calculation. Plato. The Republic.
- Extension of Meaning of Primary Activities. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- The primary of the induction-coil is connected as shown, one end going to key K and the other to the buzzer circuit. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Our primary care must be to keep the habits of the mind flexible and adapted to the movement of real life. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The interference by social arrangements with Nature, God's work, is the primary source of corruption in individuals. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- Johnson had had a few Edison lamps in London, lit up from primary batteries, as a demonstration; and in the summer of 1880 Swan had had a few series lamps burning in London. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- This appeared to him the primary step towards manhood, and he was proportionably pleased. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- In every machine the primary state of material has been modified by subordinating it to use for a purpose. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- No amount of charters, direct primaries, or short ballots make a democracy out of an illiterate people. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
Inputed by Elisabeth