First things first. "Primeval" comes from the Latin words primus, meaning "first, and aevum, meaning "age." In Latin, those terms were brought together to form "primaevus," a word that means "of or relating to the earliest ages." Other English words that descend from "primus" include "prime" and "primary," "primordial" (a synonym of "primeval"), and "primitive." "Primus" also gave rise to some terms for folks who are number one in charge, including "prince" and "principal."
primeval forests slowly disappearing as the climate changed
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But in this primeval stage, nearly all of the potential Democratic candidates are discussing problems that have bedeviled their party for years: how to win back working-class voters, how aggressively to oppose President Trump and how to reach voters beyond the traditional news media.—Lisa Lerer, New York Times, 18 May 2025 Our own moon shows evidence of primeval tidal heating, too.—Robin George Andrews, Quanta Magazine, 25 Apr. 2025 Los Angeles, like the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Santa Monica Mountains, will never return to its primeval state.—Edward Ring, Oc Register, 22 Apr. 2025 Six secluded individual bungalows sit behind a network of thriving greenery meant to evoke Miyakojima’s inland primeval forests.—Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for primeval
Word History
Etymology
primeve, in same sense, or its source, Late Latin prīmaevus "earliest, original, principal" (going back to Latin, "young, youthful," from prīmus "first, foremost, earliest" + -aevus, adjective derivative of aevum "age, lifetime") + -al entry 1 — more at prime entry 1, aye entry 3
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