Main Entry: ¹prim·i·tive

Pronunciation: \ˈpri-mə-tiv\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English primitif, from Latin primitivus first formed, from primitiae first fruits, from primus first — more at prime

Date: 14th century

1 a : not derived : original, primary b : assumed as a basis; especially : axiomatic <primitive concepts>
2 a : of or relating to the earliest age or period : primeval <the primitive church> b : closely approximating an early ancestral type : little evolved <primitive mammals> c : belonging to or characteristic of an early stage of development : crude, rudimentary <primitive technology> d : of, relating to, or constituting the assumed parent speech of related languages <primitive Germanic>
3 a : elemental, natural <our primitive feelings of vengeance — John Mackwood> b : of, relating to, or produced by a people or culture that is nonindustrial and often nonliterate and tribal <primitive art> c : naive d (1) : self-taught, untutored <primitive craftsmen> (2) : produced by a self-taught artist <a primitive painting>

— prim·i·tive·ly adverb

— prim·i·tive·ness noun

— prim·i·tiv·i·ty \ˌpri-mə-ˈti-və-tē\ noun