primordial

adjective

pri·​mor·​di·​al prī-ˈmȯr-dē-əl 

1

a

: first created or developed : primeval sense 1

b

: existing in or persisting from the beginning (as of a solar system or universe)

a primordial gas cloud

c

: earliest formed in the growth of an individual or organ : primitive

primordial cells

2

: fundamental, primary

primordial human joys

—Sir Winston Churchill

primordially

prī-ˈmȯr-dē-ə-lē 

adverb

Did you know?

The history of "primordial" began when the Latin words primus (meaning "first") and "ordiri" (meaning "to begin") came together to form "primordium," the Latin word for "origin." When it entered English in the 14th century, "primordial" was used in the general sense "primeval." Early on, there were hints that "primordial" would lend itself well to discussions of the earth's origins. Take, for instance, this passage from a 1398 translation of an encyclopedia called On the Properties of Things: "The virtu of God made primordial mater, in the whiche as it were in massy thinge the foure elementis were . . . nought distinguishd." Nowadays, primordial matter is often referred to in evolutionary theory as "primordial soup," a mixture of organic molecules from which life on earth originated.

Synonyms

• ancient
• early
• primal
• primeval
• primitive

Examples of primordial in a Sentence

all life on Earth supposedly came from a primordial ooze in existence many millions of years ago

Recent Examples on the Web

That would mean the centrifugal force arising from a spinning universe becomes a force acting in all directions away from the universe's parent primordial white hole. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 June 2025

Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia Australia is home to some of the most far-flung, primordial swaths of wilderness in the world, and on the coastline of Western Australia, almost 800 miles north of Perth, sits Sal Salis. —Chloe Berge, Outside Online, 17 June 2025

Bathers are an artistic signal for life crawling onto shore out of the primordial ooze or basking in a pastoral, prelapsarian paradise. —Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2025

Since much of that action takes place in clubs where dancing was primordial, the show can incorporate diegetic numbers that set your heart racing. —Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Late Latin prīmōrdiālis, from Latin prīmōrdium (in plural prīmōrdia) "beginnings, origin, source, elementary stage" (from prīmus "first, earliest" + ōrd-, base of ōrdīrī "to lay a warp for weaving, embark on, begin" + -ium, deverbal suffix of function or state) + -ālis -al entry 1 — more at prime entry 1, order entry 2

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing primordial

• primordial soup

Rhymes for primordial

• precordial

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Kids Definition

primordial

adjective

pri·​mor·​di·​al prī-ˈmȯrd-ē-əl 

: first created or developed : primeval

primordially

-ē-ə-lē 

adverb

Medical Definition

primordial

adjective

pri·​mor·​di·​al prī-ˈmȯrd-ē-əl 

: earliest formed in the growth of an individual or organ : primitive

the primordial skeleton