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单词 primary
释义

primaryadj.n.

Brit. /ˈprʌɪm(ə)ri/, U.S. /ˈpraɪˌmɛri/, /ˈpraɪm(ə)ri/
Forms: late Middle English prymary, late Middle English (in a late copy)–1500s primarye, late Middle English– primary, 1500s prymarye, 1500s–1700s primarie.
Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin prīmārius.
Etymology: < classical Latin prīmārius of the first rank or importance, chief, principal, in post-classical Latin also primitive, original (c400), first, former (10th cent.), that has priority (13th cent.) < prīmus prime adj. + -ārius -ary suffix1. Compare French primaire (1789: see below), Catalan primari (1539), Spanish primario (second half of the 14th cent. or earlier as noun, end of the 15th cent. or earlier as adjective), Portuguese primário (1685), Italian primario (a1348). With use as noun compare post-classical Latin primarius leading man, leader (Vetus Latina). Compare primer adj., premier adj., and also prime adj.In sense A. 8 after French primaire (1789 in this sense, in assemblée primaire primary assembly; this is the earliest attestation of the French word). In sense A. 9 after French primaire (1791 in this sense, in école primaire primary school). In sense A. 12 after post-classical Latin primarius (1729 in tempora primaria primary tenses, or earlier). In sense A. 15 probably after French primaire (1805 (in Cuvier) or earlier in this sense, in penne primaire primary feather). In sense A. 18a after German Stamm- (in Stammkerne (plural) primary nuclei: 1848 in the source translated in quot. 1852), itself after French fondamental (in radical fondamental : A. Laurent 1836, in Ann. de chimie et de physique 61 126). In sense A. 18b after French primaire (in amides primaires , plural: C. Gerhardt & L. Chiozza 1853, in Comptes rendus hebd. de l'Acad. des Sci. 37 88). In sense A. 18c after German primär (H. Kolbe 1864, in Ann. der Chem. u. Pharm. 132 102, originally with reference to alcohols).
A. adj.
I. General senses.
1. Occurring or existing first in a sequence of events; belonging to the beginning or earliest stage of something; first in time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > antecedence or being earlier > [adjective] > first or prior to all others
formec888
eldestc897
firstlOE
originalc1350
foremosta1400
furthermost?a1400
primary?a1425
primatea1425
primea1500
arch1574
soon1591
origin1632
utter1634
premier1652
aboriginary1653
furthest1653
fontal1656
principial1699
première1768
protological1936
first-ever1955
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 155 (MED) Þe primary cause or þe first infloweþ more þan þe secundary cause.
1442 in A. H. Thompson Visitations Relig. Houses Diocese Lincoln (1919) II. 51 We..have founde many and dyverse thynges among yowe agayn your prymary institucyone, rewle and obseruaunces regulere.
a1550 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Bodl. e Mus.) f. 59 Fyrst thow them putrefye, her primarye quallytes destroiyng vtterlye.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica 357 Besides this originall, and primary foundation, divers others have made impressions according unto different ages and persons. View more context for this quotation
1651 C. Cartwright Certamen Religiosum i. 107 So we grant that primary antiquity is a sure note of truth.
1702 G. Farquhar Love & Business 140 Here is the primary Design of Comedy, illustrated from its first Institution.
1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes i. 5 Let us look..at the Hero as Divinity, the oldest primary form of Heroism.
1855 H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. ii. xvi. 273 In the order of constructive thought, the sensation of muscular tension is primary, and that of pressure secondary.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 801/2 They were adapted both for giving the necessary primary surgical treatment and for removing the wounded quickly from the sphere of fighting.
1962 J. L. Austin's How to do Things with Words vi. 71 The explicit performative must be a later development than certain more primary utterances.
1993 F. Collymore RSVP to Mrs Bush-Hall 128 That primary phase of her obligation as hostess accomplished, the reception of her guests, she..was contemplating with satisfaction the pulsating scene before her.
2. Of the highest rank or importance; principal, chief.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > [adjective]
mother?c1225
originalc1350
radicala1398
primitive?a1425
fundamentalc1449
primordial?a1450
primea1500
primary1565
nativea1592
fundamentive1593
primordiate1599
primara1603
remote1605
originousa1637
originary1638
parental1647
principiate1654
fontal1656
underivative1656
underived1656
fountainous1662
first hand1699
matricular1793
first-handed1855
protomorphic1887
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > most important
mosteOE
foremostc1000
headOE
headlyOE
nexta1200
umest1513
primary1565
headest1577
ruling1590
forward1591
capital1597
of the first magnitude1643
palmary1646
top1647
prepondering1651
headmost1661
home1662
life-and-death1804
palmarian1815
bada1825
key1832
première1844
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adjective]
firsteOE
headOE
highOE
greatc1350
upperestc1374
chief1377
singular1377
principala1382
royalc1425
cardinal1440
pre-eminenta1460
praisea1475
main1480
maina1525
primary1565
captain1566
arch1574
mistressa1586
capital1597
topless1609
primea1616
metropolitan1635
transeminent1660
whole1675
uppermost1680
primus inter pares1688
topping1694
Sudder1787
par excellence1839
banner1840
primatial1892
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > originality or non-imitation > [adjective]
authentic1407
untransumed1526
authentical1565
primary1565
exampleless1603
unimitatedc1610
unfollowed1630
originary1679
uncopied1737
unimitating1751
unreprinted1775
unimitative1807
protogenic1855
1565 H. Bullinger Let. to Bishops 3 May in J. Strype Ann. Reformation (1709) I. xlii. 428 We would do nothing..without the privity of you, the primary ministers.
a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1955) II. 204 I meane of a primary necessity, of a necessity to be beleeved De fide.
1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. IV iv. 170 The primary end of our life, unto what al our actions ought to collime, as arrows to their scope.
1720 T. Brett Coll. Princ. Liturgies 298 The Orarium was a long narrow Towel,..the primary Use of it was to wipe the Mouth or the Fingers as there was occasion.
1769 W. Robertson Hist. Charles V II. vi. 447 The primary object of almost all the monastic orders is to separate men from the world.
a1853 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1857) 3rd Ser. ii. 18 Every apostle, in his way, assigns to faith a primary importance.
1883 Contemp. Rev. 43 11 The primary use of work is that of supplying the materials and aids to living completely.
1935 G. Santayana Last Puritan iv. i. 464 Oliver realised for the first time that the primary use of conversation is to satisfy the impulse to talk.
1965 Gloss. Aeronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) §16 Flight crew (operating crew), those members of the aircrew whose primary concern is the operation and navigation of the aircraft and its safety in flight.
2000 M. Bakhtin in D. Lodge & N. Wood Mod. Crit. &Theory (ed. 2) vi. 124 The speech diversity within language thus has primary importance for the novel.
3.
a. That is not subordinate to or derived from anything else; that is the source or cause of something; fundamental; original.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > surveying > [adjective] > specific orders of triangulation
principal1790
secondary1790
tertiary1851
first-order1863
primary1920
1590 W. Clever Flower of Phisicke 101 The primary reason..is ioyned in propertie with fantasie, and groweth in custome both together to be bewrayed with Phisiognomy.
1617 R. Robinson Art of Pronuntiation sig. A.10b The causes of this motion and restraint are primary and secondary: the primary is spirituall, the secondary is instrumental.
1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. i. vi. 59 That order of Speech, which begins from Primary or most Universal Propositions, which are manifest of themselves, and proceeds by a perpetuall composition of Propositions into Syllogismes.
1725 I. Watts Logick i. iv. §7 They are used in a figurative or tropical Sense, when they are made to signify some things, which only bear either a Reference or a Resemblance to the primary Ideas of them.
1762 Ld. Kames Elements Crit. I. ii. 82 The emotions produced..may..be termed secondary, being occasioned either by antecedent emotions or antecedent passions, which in this respect may be termed primary.
1826 S. Smith Wks. (1859) II. 95/1 Words, in their origin, have a natural or primary sense. The accidental associations..afterwards give to that word a great number of secondary meanings.
1868 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. (1879) v. xxxiii. 190 The Sun..gives us the primary division of time into day and night.
1920 W. N. Thomas Surveying xiii. 382 On the Ordnance Survey the first framework of triangles set out over the country constituted the ‘Principal’ or ‘Primary’ triangulation.
1945 R. A. Knox God & Atom iii. 41 St. Thomas..distinguished God as the Primary Cause from those secondary causes to which we attribute this or that effect in our daily experience.
1994 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 22 Sept. 62/4 Insofar as Europe is concerned, most of the current immigrants from the third world are not ‘primary’ immigrants but dependent relatives.
b. Not involving intermediate agency; immediate, first-hand; that is a direct result of something. Now chiefly in technical and specialist senses: cf. A. II.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [adjective] > immediate or direct
immediate1533
direct1600
primary1621
proximate1641
1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 193 We call them immortall..: first by reason of their essence, which is spirituall and originarie, or primarie from God the giuer of it.
1656 R. Vines Treat. Lords-supper (1677) 279 The schoolmen distinguish between the primary and per se effects..and these that are per accidens.
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic ix. 222 The direct or primary echoes from each reflecting surface reach the ear in succession.
1849 H. M. Noad Lect. Electr. (ed. 3) 211 When a substance yields uncombined and unaltered at the electrodes, those bodies which have been separated by the electric current, then the results may be considered as primary.
1948 D. Dillard Econ. J. M. Keynes 184 Deposits which result directly from the lending and investing activities of individual banks..are called ‘derivative’ deposits, as distinguished from ‘primary’ deposits which result from the actual deposit of cash.
1986 Financial Times (Nexis) 30 Jan. i. 17 The direct primary welfare loss from a 30 per cent fall in the price of oil is 30 per cent of net oil exports.
c. Chiefly Botany and Anatomy. Designating a main branch of a ramifying structure, esp. the first or most important in a series of successive divisions from which all the others ultimately proceed. Cf. secondary adj. 4a.
ΚΠ
1777 J. Lightfoot Flora Scotica II. 676 [Polypodium aculeatum] The primary pinnæ are longest near the middle of the rib, and from thence decrease gradually towards the top and base.
1804 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. 207 The large primary branches of the carotid artery.
1835 J. S. Henslow Princ. Bot. i. i. iii. 63 The primary nerves branch off from it on either side, throughout its whole length.
1861 R. Bentley Man. Bot. i. iv. 193 When the floral axis is thus branched, it is better to speak of the main axis as the primary axis.., its divisions as the secondary axes.., and their divisions as the tertiary axes.
1905 C. S. Sargent Man. Trees N. Amer. 603 Metopium Metopium..leaflets..with..primary veins spreading at right angles, numerous reticulate veinlets, and stout petiolules.
1961 J. Stubblefield Davies's Introd. Palaeontol. (ed. 3) i. 14 The Brachiopoda are so well defined and sharply marked off from all other animals that they have been accorded the rank of a phylum or primary branch of the Animal Kingdom.
2003 Tissue & Cell 35 375 First appearing as a solid cord of epithelial cells that runs in the proximal-distal axis of the developing lung, progressively, the intrapulmonary primary bronchus begins to canalize.
d. Chemistry. Forming an ultimate or basic constituent of which a more complex whole is composed. Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > [adjective] > of or relating to compounds > by number of contitutive elements > one
primary1802
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > condition or state of being mixed or blended > [adjective] > prepared by mixing > of the first stage of compounding
primary1802
1802 T. Thomson Syst. Chem. I. 388 Compound bodies are of two kinds. Some of them are formed by the combination of two or more simple substances with each other... Others are formed by the combination of two or more compound bodies with each other... The first of these kinds of compounds I call Primary Compounds; to the second I give the name of Secondary Compounds.
1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. iii. 109 To ascertain the primary elements of the different vegetable principles, and the proportions in which they are combined.
1855 Orr's Circle Sci., Chem. 2 When two atoms of different kinds unite to form a third or compound atom,..they may be called elementary or primary atoms.
1927 Science Apr. (Suppl.) xii/2 The essential and probably the primary compound of all living matter is protein.
1989 R. Waterfield Before Eureka (BNC) 32 This is the notion of an ‘element’, originally conceived simply as a source or primary constituent and later also as an indivisible, homogeneous unit.
II. Technical and specialist senses.
4. Esp. in primary colour. Designating each of the colours from which all other colours can be derived by combining them in different proportions. Also: designating each of the seven colours of the spectrum (now historical).In terms of light the colours are now recognized as red, green, and blue; in terms of pigment, as red, yellow, and blue (black and white were formerly also included).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > state or mode of having colour > [adjective]
i-liteda1225
coloureda1325
colorate?a1425
tinct1579
primary colour1612
tincted1626
tinctured1626
tinto1686
tinted1756
unpaleda1820
pigmented1822
toned1864
hued1876
1612 H. Peacham Gentlemans Exercise i. xxiii. 79 Blacke, white, and yealow according to Aristotle are the foure [sic] primary or principall colours.
1664 R. Boyle Exper. & Considerations Colours iii. xii. 219 There are but few Simple and Primary Colours (if I may so call them) from whose Various Compositions all the rest do as it were result... I have not yet found, that to exhibit this strange Variety they [sc. Printers] need imploy any more than White, and Black, and Red, and Blew, and Yellow.
1672 I. Newton in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 7 5095 That Colour is Primary or Original, which cannot by any Art be changed, and whose Rays are alike refrangible.
1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man i. i. §2. 75 White is vulgarly thought to be the most uncompounded of all Colours, while yet it really arises from a certain Proportion of the Seven primary Colours.
1848 R. N. Wornum Lect. on Painting vi. 211 Although there are but three primitive colours, painters have nine. These are—Yellow, Red, Blue, which are primary; Orange, Purple, Green, which are secondary, being compounds of the primaries [etc.].
1876 J. Bernstein Five Senses 109 These three colours, red, green, and violet, are now received as primary colours, because they are the only three pure colours in the spectrum which, when combined, produce a nearly perfect white.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 286/2 He [sc. Kant] attaches ideals of modesty, frankness, courage, &c., to the seven primary colours of Newton's system.
1967 E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage i. 10 The simplest form of colour wheel is one containing the three primary colours.
1996 She Apr. 150/1 In this light and airy house, the owners began with a blank canvas—white walls, tiles and ceilings—to which they have added splashes of primary colour.
5. Astronomy. Esp. in primary planet. Designating a planet which orbits the sun, as distinguished from a secondary planet or satellite, which orbits a planet. Formerly also: †each of the three planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn (obsolete). Cf. secondary adj. 3d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > [noun]
primary planet1664
primary1703
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. iii. 163 Who can imagine that any of the primary Planets were wholly designed for the service of Us and our Earth?
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Primary Planets (according to some) are the Three Superior Planets, viz. Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars; but more properly a Primary Planet is one that moves round the Sun, as its Centre; whereas a Secondary Planet moves round some other Planet.
1715 tr. D. Gregory Elements Astron. I. i. §47. 99 The Secondary Planets of Jupiter gravitate towards Jupiter..and both the Primary and Secondary Planets gravitate towards the Sun.
1814 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. II. ii. viii. 339 The elliptical motions of the planets, both primary and secondary.
1884 Zadkiel's Alm. 40 The Moon forms benefic aspects with the primary planets.
1991 Notes & Rec. Royal Soc. 45 20 A corollary to Kepler's Third Law of planetary motion..namely, that the cubes of the mean distances of the ‘primary’ planets orbiting the Sun are proportional to the squares of their periods of revolution.
6. Medicine. Of a symptom, disorder, etc.: not caused by another disease or condition. Also: designating the earliest symptoms or stage of certain chronic infectious diseases (esp. syphilis and tuberculosis). Cf. secondary adj. 5f.
ΚΠ
1670 H. Stubbe Legends No Hist. 28 He that tells me the disease [sc. sweating-sickness] is a Pestilent Feaver, and the Sweat is an effect of nature endeavouring to expell the Malignity: puts me upon some thoughts that I should not have, if I took the Sweating to be the primary disease.
1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Idiopathie, in Physick, a primary Disease.
1714 J. Browne Inst. Physick 327 From the Place affected with Repletion and Obstruction beneath the Diaphragm, especially if that Affection be primary, and nothing opposes it.
1769 W. Buchan Domest. Med. ii. 293 Sometimes it is a primary disease, and at other times only a symptom of some other malady.
1800 W. Blair Ess. Venereal Dis. ii.v. 276 The symptoms of a confirmed syphilis are less easily detected and recognised than those of the primary disease.
1864 W. Aitken Sci. & Pract. Med. (ed. 3) II. iii. 67 That the ‘white-blood’ disease proceeded from a primary affection of the spleen and lymphatic glands.
1894 J. C. DaCosta Man. Mod. Surg. xv. 168 Primary syphilis is not auto-inoculable, but is hetero-inoculable.
1908 W. Osler & T. McCrae Syst. Med. IV. 679 The disease is due to a primary hyperplasia of the erythroblastic bone-marrow.
1964 Amer. Jrnl. Med. 37 885/2 Our chief interest in testing the new drug..was to determine its efficacy in cases of primary and secondary gout.
1997 Endocrinol. Jrnl. 44 367 Primary hyperparathyroidism with mild hypercalcemia is associated with psychiatric disturbances and reduced bone density.
7. Philosophy. Designating those properties (such as extension, shape, and number) which bodies necessarily have, which are found in every part of matter, and which do not vary with the forces acting upon them (this last claim is disputed by Berkeley and later philosophers). Opposed to secondary adj. 3c(b).The distinction between primary and secondary qualities is famously expounded in Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) and has been seen by modern historians of philosophy as characteristic of the ‘mechanical’ philosophy of the 17th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > metaphysics > [adjective] > of or relating to substance > primary or secondary qualities
secondary1656
primary1671
1671 J. Locke Ess. conc. Understanding: Draft B (1931) §94. 199 Two primary qualities or properties of body, viz., extension and cohesion of parts, we perfectly know and have distinct, clear ideas of.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. viii. 56 We may..observe these primary ones [sc. qualities] in Bodies, that produce simple Ideas in us, viz. Solidity, Extension, Motion or Rest, Number and figure.
1713 G. Berkeley Three Dialogues Hylas & Philonous 13 Men are more easily weaned from believing the eternal Existence of the Secondary, than the Primary Qualities.
1782 J. Balfour Philos. Diss. 177 With regard to matter, the primary qualities which we discover by our senses are, extension, divisibility, and solidity.
1810 D. Stewart Philos. Ess. i. ii. ii. 95 The line which I would draw between primary and secondary qualities is this; that the former necessarily involve the notion of extension, and consequently of externality or outness.
1856 J. F. Ferrier Inst. Metaphysic (ed. 2) v. v. 148 It is through our perceptions, and not through our sensations, that we are made acquainted with the primary qualities of matter.
1912 W. James Ess. Radical Empiricism v. 147 Even the primary qualities are undergoing the same fate. Hardness and softness are effects on us of atomic interactions.
1949 A. Pap Elem. Analyt. Philos. vii. 128 The only legitimate distinction between ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ qualities is that between measurable qualities..and non-measurable qualities.
1997 D. Park Fire within Eye ii. 37 Atoms..have only what are called primary qualities, in this case those appropriate to a particle: size, shape, position, and motion, perhaps weight, but nothing more.
8. Politics (esp. U.S.). Designating an election, meeting, etc., at which a preliminary selection of delegates or of candidates for office takes place; esp. in primary election. Cf. sense B. 7.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > election of representative body by vote > [noun] > selection of candidates > meeting for preliminary selection > an election at
primary election1789
1789 Times 25 Nov. 2/3 The primary assemblies shall choose their electors from among citizens of their own departments.
1801 Spirit of Farmers' Museum 61 The Editor of the Gazette of the United States..notices the ‘Primary Assemblies’ of our towns.
1821 Massachusetts Spy 11 Apr. 3/3 This was all the hocus-pocus of a primary caucus.
1829 Niles' Reg. 36 363/2 The battle is in reality fought in the primary meetings, and not on the day appointed by law for the election.
1835 C. P. Bradley Biogr. Isaac Hill 54 The freemen of the State were called upon to give at their primary elections, an expression of their opinion.
1885 Cent. Mag. Apr. 825 Nine out of ten of our wealthy and educated men..are really ignorant of the nature of a caucus, or a primary meeting, and never attend either.
1961 Atlanta Constit. 4 Nov. 1 An investigation of Atlanta's recent primary election produced ‘no evidence’ that any irregularities took place.
2002 Nation (N.Y.) 11 Nov. 16/2 In this year's Oklahoma primary election, an electrical worker..with intensive union support..routed..a leading promoter of the hated right-to-work statute.
9. Education. Designating a school, pupil, or educational system of the first or elementary level; of or relating to primary education.Recorded earliest in primary school n. at Compounds.See also primary age n., primary education n., primary instruction n., primary scholar n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > child > [adjective]
smalla1325
impuberala1856
impubic1876
impuberate1880
primary age1893
primary1908
preadolescent1910
subadolescent1910
subteenage1939
rising fives1968
1792 Times 20 Dec. 3/3 In a discussion relative to the Primary Schools, Dupont exclaimed—I will confess that I am an Atheist.
1839 A. D. Bache Rep. Educ. in Europe in N. Amer. Rev. (1840) July 40 Some of the schools for primary teachers in Prussia, France, Holland, and Switzerland.
1873 Scribner's Monthly Feb. 519/1 One of the most hopeful characteristics of modern primary teaching..is..a tendency to exalt right habits of learning over recitable results.
1908 A. Ruhl Other Americans x. 173 In the gymnasium four little primary girls were imitating..the gestures of the elocution teacher.
1940 Mansfield (Ohio) News-Jrnl. 7 Aug. 7/6 All heard fairy tales read to them profusely..through the primary grades.
1979 F. Iyayi Violence xxi. 291 It was the village she had left many years ago after completing her primary schooling to marry Obofun.
2002 Times Educ. Suppl. 27 Sept. (Going Places) 19/4 Coach parties of senior citizens..express the same wonderment and excitement as the primary pupils.
10. Medicine. Of a neoplasm: located in the organ or tissue of origin (esp. as opposed to being metastatic). Cf. secondary n. 13.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > growth or excrescence > [adjective] > tumour > other tumours
sublated1647
polypous1684
polypose1722
extravasate1728
flatulent1730
primary1793
mammary1804
osteosarcomatous1825
polypoid1827
carcinoid1830
homoeomorphous1832
melanoid1839
polypiform1846
tyromatous1848
non-malignant1852
extravasated1853
adenomatous1863
histioid1864
histoid1865
myxomatous1872
small-cell1872
lymphadenomatous1873
polypoidal1873
lymphomatous1876
myomatous1876
lympho-sarcomatous1880
haematomatous1886
fibro-lipomatous1889
teratomatous1891
mixed1892
fibro-adenomatous1894
psammomatous1897
tunnelled1898
mycosic1899
radioresistant1922
melanomatous1943
sarcoid-like1943
paragangliomatous1965
oncofetal1972
1793 J. Pearson Pract. Observ. Cancerous Complaints 5 I have never yet met with an unequivocal proof of a primary Scirrhus in an absorbent gland.
1844 Lancet 21 Feb. 735/2 Seven or eight cases of primary malignant disease of the lungs had come under his notice.
1880 H. Osgood in tr. H. W. von Ziemssen Cycl. Pract. Med. IX. 344 Under the name of primary melanotic endothelioma of the liver, Block recently described a case of diffuse or infiltrated pigment cancer.
1923 Brit. Jrnl. Surg. 11 317 Carcinoma in the breast, with which Paget's disease of the nipple is usually associated, is a primary carcinoma of the breast epithelium.
1986 Cancer 57 1350 The findings..could be very useful for differentiating whether such a tumor is primary or metastatic.
2000 J. Mann Murder, Magic, & Med. (rev. ed.) iv. 232 More insidious they also have the propensity to break away from their primary growth site (primary tumour) and metastasize to other sites, where they produce secondary tumours.
11. Geology. Originally: designating rocks believed to have been formed before the appearance of life on the earth; = primitive adj. 8. In later use also (in form Primary): = Palaeozoic adj. 1 (now rare). Cf. secondary adj. 5b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > stratigraphic units > [adjective] > pre-Cambrian
primitive1779
primordial1794
primary1795
Protozoic1838
prozoic1845
Cryptozoic1911
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > age or period > stratigraphic units > [adjective] > primary or Palaeozoic
primal1858
primordial1859
primary1871
1795 J. Hutton Theory Earth I. 421 The Theory of interchanging Sea and Land illustrated by an Investigation of the Primary and Secondary Strata.
1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. iv. 168 Rocks are generally divided by geologists into two grand divisions, distinguished by the names of primary and secondary... The primary rocks are composed of pure crystalline matter, and contain no fragments of other rocks.
1854 D. Brewster More Worlds iii. 44 The Primary formations consist of granite rocks, trap, syenite, and porphyry.
1871 C. Lyell Student's Elem. Geol. (1884) viii. 105 Tabular view of the Fossiliferous Strata..Post-Tertiary..Tertiary or Cainozoic..Secondary or Mesozoic..Primary or Palæozoic.
1871 C. Lyell Student's Elem. Geol. xxiii. 344 The..Permian rocks are more connected with the Primary or Palæozoic than with the Secondary or Mesozoic strata.
1921 A. L. Guerard French Civilization iii. 44 The geological map of France offers two great tertiary basins, the Aquitanian and the Parisian, all but separated by two great masses of primary rocks, Armorica and the Central Mountains.
1958 A. S. Romer in S. A. Barnett Century of Darwin vi. 140 The older ‘Secondary’ rocks contain a quite distinct type of life, in which mammals were absent and reptiles were prominent; still further back were ‘Primary’ rocks in which land animals were absent and older creations of invertebrates and fishes constituted the faunas.
1968 R. J. H. Church West Afr. ii. 14 Gently folded or unfolded Primary rocks, which have been strongly dissected, are responsible for the impressive relief of much of the Fouta Djallon of Guinea.
12. Grammar. Designating any of various tenses or moods used in the narration of present or future events, esp. the Latin and Greek present, future, and future perfect, as well as the Latin perfect when used with reference to completed action (rather than with an aorist sense). Opposed to secondary adj. and n. Additions, historic adj. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > tense > [adjective] > other specific tenses
primary1813
principal1818
prospective1893
past future1904
expanded1931
1813 G. Dunbar Anal. Formation Radical Tenses Greek Verb 40 The system which Grammarians have all along adopted, with regard to the primary and secondary tenses as they have been absurdly denominated, has led them to form by analogy, tenses of certain verbs, which I firmly believe were never in existence in the Greek language.
1844 A. Crosby Gram. Greek Lang. i. v. 417 In complementary sentences, where doubt is expressed, and a primary tense precedes, the subjunctive is sometimes used.
1871 B. H. Kennedy Public School Lat. Gram. §195 The General Rule is: Primary Tenses in the Principal Sentence are followed by Primary Tenses in the Clause: Historic by Historic.
1913 J. E. Sandys Compan. to Lat. Stud. (ed. 2) x. 823 As a rule he begins with a subordinate clause in a secondary tense and follows it up by another with a primary tense.
1964 German Q. 37 338 In dealing with the verb, the primary tenses, then the secondary are treated.
2007 G. Betts & D. Franklin Beginning Lat. Poetry Reader 252 A primary tense in the main verb..is followed by a primary tense of the subjunctive; a secondary tense in the main verb..is followed by a historic tense of the subjunctive.
13. Crystallography. = primitive adj. 10. Cf. secondary adj. 3i. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > crystallography (general) > crystal (general) > structures and forms > [adjective] > miscellaneous other
primitive1807
subtractive1807
based1810
emarginated1816
planoconvex1816
primary1823
hemisystematic1878
face-centred1913
body-centred1918
mosaic1934
1823 H. J. Brooke Familiar Introd. Crystallogr. 75 These secondary molecules would consist of certain numbers of primary ones arranged in the same order as they would be in the production of the entire secondary crystals.
1833 Abstr. Papers Royal Soc. 1815–30 2 228 Having given the plane, or dihedral angles of any crystal, and its primary form, we can..deduce the laws of decrement according to which it is constituted.
1851 G. F. Richardson Geol. (1855) v. 85 We can invariably, by a careful dissection of the crystal, extract from it a nucleus which has constantly the same form in the same mineral species... Such a nucleus is called a primary form.
14.
a. Originally (of an electric current): †supplied directly by a cell or battery, as opposed to being induced (obsolete). Now, with reference to a transformer or other device utilizing induction: of, relating to, or carrying the input electrical power. Cf. secondary adj. 3j(a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > galvanism, voltaism > [adjective] > primary
primary1835
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > transformer > [adjective] > carrying input
primary1896
1835 M. Faraday in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 125 48 The conducting power of the connecting system A B D was sufficient to carry all the primary current.
1837 M. Faraday in Ann. Electr., Magnetism, & Chem. 1 177 These experiments establishing..a distinction between the primary or generating current and the extra current, led me to conclude that the latter was identical with the induced current described..in the first series of these researches.
1857 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 20 Feb. 206/1 The effect of the passage of the voltaic current through the primary coil is to develop magnetism.
1896 F. Bedell Princ. Transformer i. 3 The primary electromotive force..is equal to the product of the number of primary turns, and the rate at which the magnetic flux in the magnetic circuit is changing.
1929 A. T. Dover Electr. Traction (ed. 2) x. 281 The primary winding..has tappings to give 1000, 800, and 220 volts.
1938 R. M. Kerchner & G. F. Corcoran Alternating-Current Circuits vii. 193 The primary current could thus be made to lead or lag the primary voltage by adjusting the degree of coupling between the two transformer windings.
1992 RS Components: Electronic & Electr. Products July 1082/1 Toroidal transformers with two independent primary windings which may be connected in series for 240 V operation or parallel for 120 V operation.
b. Of a cell or battery: generating electricity by an irreversible chemical reaction, and therefore unable to store electrical energy supplied to it. Cf. secondary adj. 3j(b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > galvanism, voltaism > voltaic or galvanic battery > [adjective] > not capable of storage
primary1874
1874 Scribner's Monthly May 123/1 If after a time the Bunsen battery is discontinued, and the wires of the secondary battery are brought into communication, a powerful current passes for some minutes; the apparatus acting as a sort of condensor to store up the electricity produced by the primary battery.
1882 Engineer 19 May 365/2 The distinction between a primary and a secondary battery is in no sense an important one when we are considering either as the producer of a current.
1922 R. Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics II. 59/2 Polarisation is one of the difficulties encountered in all primary cells.
1971 H. A. Romanowitz Introd. Electr. Circuits ii. 36 The wet cells and dry cells just described, which are not rechargeable, are classified as primary cells.
1992 RS Components: Electronic & Electr. Products July 8/1 A range of popular sizes of primary (non-rechargeable) button cells suitable for use in calculators, cameras, clocks, watches, etc.
15. Ornithology. Designating any of the large flight feathers of a bird's wing, growing from the manus. Also: designating any of the smaller feathers (coverts) that cover the bases of these Cf. secondary adj. 6a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [adjective] > having wings > having feathers on > relating to particular feathers
prime1637
primary1839
tertiary1858
remigial1879
tectricial1891
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. vii. 162 When these birds [sc. Scissor-beaks] are fishing, the length of the primary feathers of the wings is seen to be quite necessary, in order to keep the latter dry.
1894–5 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. III. 343 Starlings..all agree in possessing a wing with five primary quills, and twelve tail-feathers.
1939 T. L. Green Pract. Animal Biol. i. 187 Quill feathers..are large and consist of two types, a. Remiges or wing-quills in which the two halves of the vane are of unequal width, and which can be further divided into primary quills attached to the bones of the manus and secondary quills attached to the ulna.
1987 E. W. Burr Compan. Bird Med. xxvi. 175/2 The functional clip consists of clipping the first six to eleven primary flight feathers, up to or just under the primary coverts.
1990 Compl. Angler's Guide Spring 20/3 Many fly dressers..practise producing wings with grey duck primary quills.
16. Biology. Belonging to or directly derived from the first stage of development or growth, and (often) forming the foundation of the subsequent structure (cf. sense A. 3a). Cf. primitive adj. 7b, secondary adj. 5c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > development, growth, or degeneration > [adjective] > growth > stages of
primordial1786
primitive1833
primary1844
secondary1857
1844 W. B. Carpenter Animal Physiol. i. 34 This membrane is termed the basement or primary membrane.
1854 R. Owen Struct. Skeleton & Teeth in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature I. 165 In no system of the skeleton are bones a primary formation of the animal: they are the result of transmutations of pre-existing tissues.
1885 G. L. Goodale in A. Gray & G. L. Goodale Bot. Text-bk. (ed. 6) II. i. iii. 119 The primary cortex consists essentially of parenchyma in which isolated cells of a peculiar character may often be found.
1914 M. Drummond tr. G. Haberlandt Physiol. Plant Anat. i. 61 More often..it [sc. the middle lamella] also comprises the primary thickening layers.
1953 K. Esau Plant Anat. iv. 77 If these cells [that give origin to the meristem] are the direct descendants of the embryonic cells..the meristems are called primary.
1960 D. C. Braungart & R. Buddeke Introd. Animal Biol. (ed. 5) v. 67 The three cell layers of an embryo, the ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm, are called the three primary germ layers, because from fundaments derived from one or the other of these three layers of cells or from combinations of two or more of them all tissues and organs of the adult animal are developed.
1995 P. F. S. Cornelius et al. in P. J. Hayward & J. S. Ryland Handbk. Marine Fauna N.W. Europe iv. 70/2 Hydrozoans are typified by sessile polyp and free-swimming medusa generations in the life cycle... The planula settles and develops into a primary polyp from which a new colony grows, completing the life cycle.
17. In the context of academic research or writing: designating source material contemporary with the period or thing studied; designating an original document, source, or text rather than one of criticism, discussion, or summary.
ΚΠ
1844 Foreign Q. Rev. Jan. 350 If the primary evidence be wanting—if the original deed be lost or destroyed, we must have recourse to secondary evidence.
1898 Amer. Hist. Rev. 3 385 They are not mere studies from secondary authorities..but contain ample evidence of serious work among the best primary sources.
1936 F. N. House Devel. Sociol. x. 115 So involved and voluminous are Comte's own works..that such a competent analysis and summary is more serviceable to the average student than are the primary texts.
1969 Listener 1 May 594/1 Old newsreels, live film..of men and events—home movies, for that matter—are primary sources.
2003 M. Byrnes in A. H. Sturgis Presidents from Hayes through McKinley Foreword p. ix The series combines description and analysis of those issues with excerpts from primary documents that illustrate the position of the presidents and their opponents.
18. Chemistry.
a. Designating hydrocarbons regarded as the fundamental units from which all organic compounds can be derived by substitution. Cf. A. 3d. Now historical.
ΚΠ
1852 H. Watts tr. L. Gmelin Hand-bk. Chem. VII. 18 If the nuclei contain nothing but hydrogen in addition to the carbon, they are called Primary Nuclei [Ger. Stammkerne].
1907 J. B. Cohen Org. Chem. Adv. Students I. i. 18 Laurent assumed that every organic compound contained a hydrocarbon nucleus or radical. These were the primary nuclei (noyaux fondamentaux) and were so chosen that the elements composing them were present in even numbers.
1929 L. A. Coles Introd. Mod. Org. Chem. xxxvi. 426 Laurent..regarded organic compounds as derived from hydrocarbons or ‘primary radicals’, from which ‘secondary radicals’..were derived by substitution.
b. Originally: †designating compounds regarded as being derived from any of four molecules (water, ammonia, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen), by replacement of one hydrogen atom by an organic radical (obsolete). In later use: designating ammonia derivatives and, in extended use, analogous derivatives of other elements, esp. phosphorus, in which one hydrogen atom has been replaced by an organic radical. Cf. secondary adj. 3l(a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > [adjective] > of or relating to compounds > derived from H2O, HCl, H or esp. NH3
primary1854
1854 Q. Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 6 195 The amides thus produced, which we shall call primary amides, represent a molecule of ammonia in which 1 atom of hydrogen is replaced by the negative radicals.
1888 C. L. Bloxam Chem. (ed. 6) 586 The amides, like the amines..may be primary, secondary, or tertiary accordingly as one, two, or three atoms of H in the NH3 group has been replaced.
1889 G. M'Gowan tr. A. Bernthsen Text-bk. Org. Chem. 119 Just as amines are derived from ammonia, so from phosphuretted hydrogen, PH3, are derived primary, secondary, and tertiary phosphines by the exchange of hydrogen for alcoholic radicals.
1965 Nomencl. Org. Chem. (I.U.P.A.C.) C. 176 The generic name ‘amine’ is applied to compounds NH2R, NHR1R2, and NR1R2R3, which are called primary, secondary, and tertiary amines, respectively.
1982 G. C. Hill & J. S. Holman Chem. in Context: Lab. Man. & Study Guide 114/2 The simplest primary amines are CH3NH2, methylamine, and CH3CH2NH2, ethylamine.
c. Of an alcohol or other organic compound: having the characteristic functional group located on a saturated carbon atom which is itself bonded to not more than one other carbon atom. Cf. secondary adj. 3l(b), tertiary adj. 1b(a).For amines, etc., see sense A. 18b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > [adjective] > organic structure
primary1864
quaternary1871
vicinal1898
secondary1903
tertiary1903
the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > [adjective] > organic structure > organic compound structure
primary1864
secondary1864
tertiary1872
1864 Chem. News 26 Nov. 260/1 Primary alcohol.
1888 H. F. Morley & M. M. P. Muir Watts' Dict. Chem. (rev. ed.) I. 100/1 In the primary alcohols the carbon-atom joined to the hydroxyl is connected immediately with only one other carbon atom.
1929 L. A. Coles Introd. Mod. Org. Chem. xii. 140 Methyl and ethyl alcohol are the two most important members of the primary alcohol series.
1968 J. March Adv. Org. Chem. ix. 866 Primary alcohols or aldehydes can be converted directly to nitriles by air oxidation in the presence of ammonia, a strong base..and a copper complex.
1993 Jrnl. Physical Chem. 97 653/1 The subsequent reactions of the primary aldehyde (propionaldehyde)..are believed to proceed through a surface enolate intermediate.
d. Designating or involving a saturated carbon atom in an organic compound which is bonded to only one other carbon atom, the other bonds being to hydrogen atoms or functional groups. Also (of an ion or a free radical): having (respectively) the electric charge or the unpaired electron located on a primary carbon atom. Cf. secondary adj. 3l(c), tertiary adj. 1b(c).
ΚΠ
1902 J. B. Cohen Theoret. Org. Chem. vi. 81 When the halogen is attached to an end carbon atom, or is present in a group, ·CH2X, the group is called a primary group.
1926 H. G. Rule tr. J. Schmidt Text-bk. Org. Chem. 70 When a carbon atom is combined in such a manner that only one of its four valencies is satisfied by carbon, it is termed a primary carbon atom.
1968 J. March Adv. Org. Chem. ix. 866 Primary amines at a primary carbon can be dehydrogenated to nitriles.
1972 R. O. C. Norman & D. J. Waddington Mod. Org. Chem. ix. 116 A tertiary carbonium ion is a relatively more stable species than a primary carbonium ion..and is formed much faster.
1987 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 109 2176/2 Initial ionization occurred cleanly at the primary carbon.
19. Biology. Designating sexual characteristics and organs (esp. testes and ovaries) that are essential to reproduction and are determined directly by the genetic sex, usually without hormonal intervention. Cf. secondary adj. 3n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > sex organs > [adjective]
privyc1325
pudendal1772
pudical1787
pudic1795
sexual1825
copulatory1836
copulative1855
primary1871
perigenital1953
1871 C. Darwin Descent of Man I. viii. 253 With animals which have their sexes separated, the males necessarily differ from the females in their organs of reproduction; and these are the primary sexual characters.
1871 C. Darwin Descent of Man I. viii. 254 Unless..we confine the term ‘primary’ to the reproductive glands, it is scarcely possible to decide which ought to be called primary and which secondary.
1894 H. Ellis Man & Woman ii. 18 When we are dealing with Man it is perhaps most convenient to set aside as primary the sexual glands..and the organs for emission and reception in immediate connection with these glands.
1926 J. R. Baker Sex in Man & Animals ii. 26 The primary sexual characters are..the testes and ovaries. The accessory sexual characters are the obviously useful sex characters other than the testes and ovaries, such as the vas deferens..and the vagina... The secondary sexual characters are those which seem not to be directly concerned in reproduction, such as beards, antlers, and crests.
1977 E. J. Trimmer et al. Visual Dict. Sex (1978) xxii. 262/1 A boy castrated before puberty will fail to develop the primary and secondary sexual characteristics of a normal male.
1999 J. Burchill Married Alive x. 153 Matthew Miller is a screaming old slapper who would wedge his primary sex organ into a Jenga tower if the opening looked reasonably solid.
20. Economics. In a developed economy: designating or relating to the obtaining of natural resources in industries such as agriculture, forestry, fishing, and mining, for use in manufacturing or for retail.
ΚΠ
1876 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. London 39 735 There are 1,925,000 classed as farmers and proprietors, and 3,087,039 as labourers, engaged in ‘primary production’.
1921 H. Hoover in E. M. House & C. Seymour What really happened at Paris xiv. 342 Each nation should contribute its share of shipping to be devoted to the movement of primary commodities such as food and coal.
1930 Economist 8 Feb. 290/1 Our exporting manufacturers will be faced with lessened purchasing power in the hands of primary producers overseas.
1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Jan. 3/1 The basis of New Zealand's economic standards is the country's primary industries.
1974 M. B. Brown Econ. of Imperialism iv. 94 The extraction by the United States and by other developed countries of minerals and primary products from the whole world would not be regarded by classical economists as any sort of plunder.
2002 Jrnl. Asian Stud. 61 1269 In 1978, 42 percent of Chaozhou's economic output came from the primary sector.
21. Geology. (Of a mineral) that is an original constituent of the rock containing it; (of a rock) whose constituents are newly formed particles that have undergone no alteration since formation; spec. designating a mineral or rock that has crystallized from magma and undergone no subsequent alteration. Cf. secondary adj. 3o.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > [adjective] > original or non-original
primary1886
allogenic1888
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > [adjective] > primary or hypogene
hypogene1833
nether-formed1833
protogenic1877
primary1886
1886 J. Geikie Outl. Geol. xiii. 151 It is the primary or original constituents of a rock which ought to determine its species, but these are often replaced by secondary minerals, and thus it is not in all cases possible to say what were the primary minerals.
1921 Trans. Geol. Soc. S. Afr. 24 116 In some varieties..a titaniferous lime-iron garnet comes in, together with primary calcite.
1931 A. Johannsen Descr. Petrogr. Igneous Rocks I. ii. 28 The primary minerals of the igneous rocks are comparatively few in number.
1971 B. W. Sparks Rocks & Relief iv. 132 A relatively small class of primary calcareous rocks, known as carbonatites, are [sic] associated in some areas with alkaline igneous rocks.
1993 Jrnl. Petrol. 34 472 It contains large cores of fibrous cummingtonite that apparently replaced primary orthopyroxene.
22. Physics and Astronomy. Of, relating to, or designating radiation (esp. in the form of particles) that is not produced by other radiation but which may itself produce other radiation; (of cosmic rays) originating outside the earth's atmosphere. Cf. secondary adj. 3q.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > ionizing radiation > [adjective] > relating to cosmic radiation
primary1900
1900 J. S. Townsend in Proc. Cambr. Philos. Soc. 10 218 The apparatus shown..was used to determine the relative intensities of the secondary radiations given out by different bodies, and the intensity of the secondary radiation compared with that of the primary radiation which excites it.
1921 J. Scott-Taggart Thermionic Tubes i. 23 When the primary or original electron attains a velocity sufficiently high to break off electrons from the gas molecule, it will leave the latter positively charged.
1944 Ann. Reg. 1943 361 Results which they regarded as..confirming that the main part of the primary cosmic ray radiation does not consist of electrons.
1946 Electronic Engin. 18 75/1 An electrode will emit primary electrons when its temperature is raised sufficiently to overcome the work function of the material of which it is made.
2002 F. Close et al. Particle Odyssey v. 73 Collisions between primary cosmic rays and the upper atmosphere produce positive, negative, and neutral pions in vast numbers.
23. Linguistics. In phonology: designating the principal stress in a word or sentence.
ΚΠ
1901 M. B. Smith tr. B. ten Brink Lang. & Metre of Chaucer i. 3 In these cases the simple accent becomes differentiated into a primary stress [Ger. Hauptton] and a weaker, secondary stress; cf. mártyrdoòm.
1951 G. L. Trager & H. L. Smith Outl. Eng. Struct. i. 36 There must be a stress phoneme whose characteristic is maximum normal loudness, which we may call primary stress.
1972 Language 48 328 In simple declarative sentences ending in a predicate, primary stress is often most naturally placed on the subject.
1996 Eng. Today 12 47/2 When pronounced in isolation or out of context..a word like relativity, for example, would have two stressed syllables... Those who recognize the primary/secondary distinction would say that the first syllable has secondary stress and the third has primary stress.
24. Ecology.
a. Of a plant succession or sequence of changes in the vegetation of an area: taking place on a site not previously colonized. Cf. secondary adj. 5i.
ΚΠ
1905 F. E. Clements Res. Methods Ecol. iv. 241 Primary successions..arise on newly formed soils, or upon surfaces exposed for the first time, which have in consequence never borne vegetation before.
1911 A. G. Tansley Types Brit. Vegetation Intr. 9 In the normal primary development of a formation..the associations involved show intimate relations and transitions one to another.
1952 P. W. Richards Trop. Rain Forest xii. 269 The successions or seres leading to the establishment of stable climax Rain forest are classified..into primary successions or priseres starting on soil not previously occupied by plants.
1973 P. A. Colinvaux Introd. Ecol. vi. 77 The successions so far discussed are all primary successions, that is to say they are supposed to proceed by pioneering new sites.
b. Esp. in primary forest. Designating forest or woodland that has remained relatively undisturbed by human activity; (also) designating an area that has been continuously wooded since ancient times.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > fertile land or place > land with vegetation > [adjective] > wooded > types of
bushya1382
ramagea1500
boskya1616
brakya1637
brushy1658
brushed1666
scrubbya1687
pine barrenc1721
bush-grown1837
stumpy1838
bush-skirted1858
bushed1868
bush-covered1873
bush-fringed1891
bush-clad1909
primary forest1909
1909 Geogr. Jrnl. 34 682 Very definite conclusions as to the prospects of forest-exploitation are not yet possible, but the opinion is expressed that it is only the primary forest which would repay systematic attempts at conservation.
1952 P. W. Richards Trop. Rain Forest ii. 29 It seems likely that this forest has suffered disturbance in the past and is old secondary rather than truly primary.
1996 Independent (Nexis) 20 Apr. 13 A measly (by comparison) 300,000 hectares is ancient, or primary, woodland, such as can be seen in Hatfield Forest in Essex.
2004 Guardian (Nexis) 18 Mar. 5 After exhausting most of Indonesia's primary rainforests, illegal loggers have turned to national parks.
25. Esp. in primary air. Designating air admitted to the fuel in a burner or furnace at or before the earliest stage of combustion. Cf. secondary adj. 3w.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > gas > air > [noun] > specific air > admitted to fuel in furnace
primary air1915
1915 Proc. Royal Soc. 1914–15 A. 91 245 A typical modern gas fire consists of a series of atmospheric burner nozzles..arranged equidistantly along a common horizontal supply pipe provided with a suitable means for properly adjusting the relative gas and primary air supplies.
1931 Engineering 9 Jan. 39/3 The primary air and coal enter at the side of the burner through a long, narrow port.
2000 P. W. B. Semmens & A. J. Goldfinch How Steam Locomotives really Work ii. 33 The fireman can control the amount of primary air entering the bottom of the firebox by means of dampers.
26. Seismology. Esp. in primary wave. Designating an earthquake P wave. Cf. secondary adj. 3u.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > convulsion > [adjective] > earthquake
terremotive1837
seismic1858
seismical1869
earthquaking1881
seismotic1889
principal1899
macroseismic1903
primary wave1919
seismal1977
1912 Nature 5 Sept. 4/2 The usual seismographic record shows three chief groups of disturbances, due respectively to the longitudinal and transverse waves through the core..and to the superficial waves round the crust. These..are complicated and supplemented by reflections of the deep waves at the surface, and sometimes by twin earthquakes caused by the primary.]
1919 Proc. Royal Soc. Edinb. 39 161 Tables familiar to all seismologists, in which times of transit of the primary and secondary waves are expressed in terms of the arcual distances of the stations of observation from the..epicentre.
1968 R. A. Lyttleton Myst. Solar Syst. ii. 56 The velocity of the primary waves..is always essentially faster than that of the secondary waves.
1992 Pixel Mar. 20/1 Earthquakes generate various kinds of waves, including P, S and surface waves. P-waves are the initial primary sound waves.
27. Medicine. Designating or relating to health care provided in the community, esp. by the staff of a general practice, for routine patient care and for those making an initial approach for medical advice or treatment. Frequently in primary care. Cf. secondary adj.
ΚΠ
1920 Times 24 May 10/3 The establishment of what have been called primary health centres throughout every country.
1967 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 19 Oct. 848/1 Primary medical care..refers to first-contact care.
1967 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 19 Oct. 848/1 Primary care does not have to be provided by physicians, but it should probably be supervised and monitored by them.
1999 G. Cannon in G. Tansey & J. D'Silva Meat Business xi. 115 The economic benefits of primary health care, including prevention and screening for cancer.
28. Ecology. Designating an organism in a particular community which is either a producer, or belongs to the lowest trophic level among the consumers of the community; of or relating to such an organism.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > balance of nature > organisms in relation to habitat > [adjective]
fieldya1382
waterya1382
agrestial1608
subterranean1638
lucifugous1654
nemoral1656
subcutaneous1664
subterraneous1832
subtidal1852
xylophilous1862
xerophilous1863
acid-loving1870
aerobic1878
aerobian1879
aerobious1879
aerobiotic1880
subaquatic1880
aerophilous1885
facultative1887
pelagic1887
aerophile1888
autotrophic1893
heterotrophic1893
plastic1893
thermophilic1894
thermophil1896
mesophilic1897
halolimnic1898
polybathic1898
tolerant1898
limnetic1899
thermophilous1899
metatrophic1900
mixotrophic1900
paratrophic1900
mesophilous1901
benthic1902
epibenthic1902
eurybathic1902
microaerophilic1903
sympatric1904
benthoal1905
cryophile1907
benthonic1909
microaerophile1909
lenitic1916
lotic1916
psychrotolerant1924
oligosaprobic1925
polysaprobic1925
aerophilic1929
saprobic1932
primary1934
lentic1935
chemoautotrophic1936
eurytopic1937
psammic1938
saprotrophic1942
prototrophic1946
chemolithoautotrophic1949
auxotrophic1950
chemolithotrophic1953
chemoorganotrophic1953
opportunist1956
psychrophile1956
psychrophilic1958
opportunistic1960
psychrotrophic1960
oligosaprobe1990
1893 W. K. Brooks in Mem. Biol. Lab. Johns Hopkins Univ. 2 148 A few forms are so predominant that..we may regard the great primary food-supply as made up of two simple protozoa, Globigerina and the Radiolarians, and some five or six unicellular plants.]
1934 Q. Rev. Biol. 9 163/1 In connection with..his phrase (‘primary food supply’) which I have undertaken to use, Brooks gives..a meaning somewhat more comprehensive than that which I prefer... It suits my purpose better to confine the usage to the microscopic plants equipped with chlorophyll and capable of manufacturing carbohydrates from raw materials.
1953 E. P. Odum Fund. Ecol. iv. 82 In speaking of productivity, it is important to distinguish between the basic or primary productivity..and consumer or secondary productivity.
1976 S. B. Chapman in Methods in Plant Ecol. iv. 161 Primary production is the production of organic matter by photosynthesis.
1993 E. N. K. Clarkson Invertebr. Palaeontol. & Evol. (ed. 3) i. 14/2 Small planktic animals are the primary consumers (herbivores and detritus eaters); there are secondary (carnivores) and tertiary consumers (top carnivores) in turn.
29. Psychology. Relating to abilities or traits which appear basic to other aspects of intelligence or personality.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > psychology of personality > testing of personality > [adjective] > relating to basic traits
primary1936
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > acquisition of knowledge > test of mental ability > factor analysis > [adjective] > revealed as basic attributes
primary1936
1936 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 48 680 Factor analysis has again and again revealed similar lists of primary abilities, including such factors as verbality, numerical ability, space perception, retentivity, mental speed, and the like.
1958 K. Lovell Educ. Psychol. & Children iii. 58 Thurstone has termed these primary mental abilities and claims that they are found both in very young children and in adults.
1970 L. J. Bischof Interpreting Personality Theories (ed. 2) vi. xii. 464 In his current work, Cattell calls the source traits Primary Personality Factors. With few exceptions, the Primary Personality Factors are bipolar or dichotomized.
1995 P. A. Tyler in C. Hollin Contemp. Psychol. vi. 111 It has been of enormous interest to psychologists in this field to know how many ‘primary’ personality characteristics there are, and these psychologists have disagreed dramatically over the proposed number.
2001 A. M. Colman Dict. Psychol. 581/2 Primary mental abilities..are labelled verbal comprehension (V), word fluency (W), number (N), spatial ability (S), associative memory (M), perceptual speed (P), and reasoning (R) or induction (I).
30. Esp. in primary radar. Designating radar in which the transmitted signal is reflected by the target (in contrast to secondary radar, in which receipt of the transmitted signal by the target triggers the generation of a return signal). Cf. secondary adj. 3x.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > [adjective] > radar > types of
sideways-looking1832
primary radar1945
shoran1946
passive1954
monopulse1955
back scatter1957
monostatic1957
side-looking1959
side scan1961
lookdown1968
1945 R. Watson-Watt in Nature 15 Sept. 323/2 Primary radar is that form of radar which ‘does not require the co-operation of the object to be located’.
1960 T. J. Morgan Radar xii. 137 The measurement of the wind direction and velocity was carried out by means of direction finding stations, then later by primary radar.
2004 9/11 Comm. Rep. (National Comm. Terrorist Attacks U.S.) i. 29 At 9:41, Cleveland Center lost United 93's transponder signal. The controller located it on primary radar, matched its position with visual sightings from other aircraft, and tracked the flight as it turned east, then south.
B. n.
1. A person who or thing which is first in order, rank, or importance; anything from which something else arises or is derived; a first principle. Usually in plural. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > [noun]
welleOE
mothereOE
ordeOE
wellspringeOE
fathereOE
headeOE
oreOE
wellspringOE
rootc1175
morea1200
beginningc1200
head wella1325
sourcec1374
principlea1382
risinga1382
springinga1382
fountain14..
springerc1410
nativity?a1425
racinea1425
spring1435
headspring?a1439
seminaryc1440
originationc1443
spring wellc1450
sourdre1477
primordialc1487
naissance1490
wellhead?1492
offspringa1500
conduit-head1517
damc1540
springhead1547
principium1550
mint1555
principal1555
centre1557
head fountain1563
parentage1581
rise1589
spawna1591
fount1594
parent1597
taproot1601
origin1604
fountainhead1606
radix1607
springa1616
abundary1622
rist1622
primitive1628
primary1632
land-spring1642
extraction1655
upstart1669
progenerator1692
fontala1711
well-eye1826
first birth1838
ancestry1880
Quelle1893
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical reasoning > [noun] > deductivism or a priori reasoning > axioms
philosophia prima1605
outlines1691
basis1796
primordial1813
generalia1843
prima philosophia1845
primary1846
axiomatic1927
1632 H. Reynolds Mythomystes 41 He should neither commit [the interpretation of the Law] to letters nor diuulge; but he to Iosua only and Iosua to the other succeeding primaries among the Priests.
1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. v. 60 Intellection likewise, must be two-fold, one of Primaries, the other of Secondaries.
1769 H. Brooke Fool of Quality IV. xvii. 144 Where any secondary agents attempt to defeat the power of their primaries.
1846 G. S. Faber Lett. Tractarian Secession Popery 248 Though there may be occasional disagreement in subordinates, there is a very singular and a very striking agreement in primaries.
1856 P. E. Dove Logic Christian Faith Introd. §5. 13 Every science..begins with primaries or with ultimates.
1987 G. Bear Forge of God (1988) 90 Perhaps the Guest's people..had advanced to the point of purity: only the primaries, the smart folks, left alive.
2. Astronomy. A primary planet (cf. sense A. 5).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > [noun]
primary planet1664
primary1703
1703 Philos. Trans. 1702–3 (Royal Soc.) 23 1313 All the Secundary Planets in turning round their Primary, are kept in their Orbits by the force of gravity, whose direction is towards the Centres of their respective Primaries.
1734 tr. P. L. M. de Maupertuis Diss. Cœlestial Bodies 33 in J. Keill Exam. Burnet's Theory of Earth (ed. 2) We see that the Sun attracting the Planets, is the Cause why they move round him, as the attraction of the Primaries confines their Secondaries.
1868 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. (1879) iii. x. 58 The only satellite which takes a longer time to revolve round its primary than our Moon, is Iapetus, the eighth satellite of Saturn.
1920 Discovery May 136/2 While a satellite in a direct orbit would..perhaps be forced ultimately to leave its primary altogether, one of these ‘retrograde’ satellites might survive.
1997 Nature 27 Mar. 319/2 A moon orbiting a superjovian planet outside the normally accepted habitable zone might be able to support liquid water, thanks to the added heat flux from its primary.
3. Ornithology. A primary flight feather (cf. sense A. 15). Usually in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [noun] > wing or wings > feather(s) on > primary feather(s)
flags1486
pinion feather1486
pinion1545
pen-feather1602
quill feather1678
remexa1705
flight1735
flight-feather1735
primary1776
rower1835
remicle1887
pen plume1899
1776 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4, octavo) II. ii. 525 Primaries and tail black.
1834 R. Mudie Feathered Tribes Brit. Islands I. 9 The primaries or principal quills..form the termination of the wing.
1883 H. N. Martin & W. A. Moale Handbk. Vertebr. Dissect. ii. 99 The primaries are ten in number and are inserted upon the manus.
1952 M. K. Wilson tr. K. Z. Lorenz King Solomon's Ring i. 6 The goose flying second on the left of the triangular phalanx had lost a primary.
1990 Birds Mag. Summer 49/1 It is not difficult to imagine the great wingspan of the sea eagle; dark primaries stretched apart like long fingers.
4. A primary electrical circuit, current, coil, etc. (cf. sense A. 14a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > [noun] > primary
primary1837
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > galvanism, voltaism > voltaic or galvanic battery > [noun] > primary battery > coil in
primary1837
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > circuit > [noun] > primary
primary1869
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > transformer > [noun] > primary circuit
primary1869
1837 M. Faraday in Ann. Electr., Magnetism, & Chem. 1 200 The renitency encountered in the conductors will necessarily exercise a due influence in lessening the force of secondary currents, but cannot be made available as a cause of the comparative atony which these currents, by the initial impulses of the primary, invariably display.
1849 H. M. Noad Lect. Electr. (ed. 3) 490 The coil of thick wire is called the primary.
1869 Eng. Mech. 17 Dec. 335/2 The core and primary are enclosed in an ebonite cylinder.
1931 B. Brown Talking Pictures iii. 36 Modulation of the voltage is accomplished through a transformer, the primary of which is supplied with the speech recording current coming from the microphone.
1992 Mod. Railways Mar. 150/3 The data to be transmitted to the train from the trackside signal is injected..into the primary of the transformer as a modulated current.
5. A primary colour (cf. sense A. 4).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > [noun] > primary colours
primitivea1806
primary1848
tristimulus1933
1848 R. N. Wornum Lect. on Painting vi. 211 Although there are but three primitive colours, painters have nine. These are—Yellow, Red, Blue, which are primary; Orange, Purple, Green, which are secondary, being compounds of the primaries [etc.].
1884 Harper's Mag. Mar. 586/2 The eye supplies the absent primary, blue.
1934 C. Hartshorne Philos. & Psychol. Sensation vii. 223 Another advantage of the system..is that it divides the circle of hues into more nearly equal steps between primaries.
1967 E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage i. 14 If the three primaries are placed on a white background the reverse will happen.
1998 J. A. Lee in V. C. De Munck Romantic Love & Sexual Behavior ii. 335 All these colors have a structure. There are primaries (such as red) and secondaries (such as orange, a mix of red and yellow).
6.
a. Originally U.S., now chiefly British. A primary school. Cf. sense A. 9.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > school > [noun] > primary school
under-school1629
primer schoola1680
proseminary1774
primary school1792
dame-schoola1817
pettya1827
ma'am-school1838
elementary school1841
primary1851
prep school1862
minding-school1864
junior school1871
tother school1881
marm school1889
preparatory1904
terakoya1909
prep1924
prepper1956
1851 Common School Syst. of State of N.-Y. (N.Y. State Dept. Public Instruction) 321 All schools which have been organized under the act..shall be called common schools (‘ward schools’) or ward primaries.
1905 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 13 438 At the end of the reign of Louis Philippe three and a half million children of both sexes were registered in the public and private primaries.
1971 Weekend World (Johannesburg) 9 May 3/3 Twelve schools—six higher primaries and six post-primaries—took part in the competition.
1991 Times Educ. Suppl. 4 Jan. 11/4 The problem for primaries..is finding the range of skills to deliver the national curriculum and full spread of out-of-school activities.
2001 Church Times 7 Dec. 5/2 Two Anglican primaries were among the 20 most improved schools.
b. A pupil at a primary school. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > primary or prep school pupil
primarian1858
prep1863
preparatory1873
primary1908
preppy1928
1908 E. Robins Come & find Me 36 ‘Serves her right’ said Primarys, Academics and Collegiates all with one voice.
7. Chiefly U.S. Politics. An election or meeting at which delegates are nominated or candidates selected to run for election; esp. an intra-party election held to select candidates for a general election. Cf. A. 8.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > meeting or assembling for common purpose > [noun] > a meeting > types of
morn-speechOE
court1154
morrow-speech1183
conventicle1382
congregation1389
plenary session1483
journeyc1500
night school1529
assession1560
general meeting1565
family meeting1638
panegyris1647
desk1691
collegea1703
annual general meeting1725
mass meeting1733
panegyre1757
plenum1772
family council1797
coterie1805
Round Table1830
GA1844
indignation meeting1848
protest meeting1852
hui1858
primary1859
Quaker meeting1861
mothers' meeting1865
sit-down1868
town hall1912
jamboree1919
protest rally1921
con1940
face-to-face1960
morning prayers1961
struggle meeting1966
be-in1967
love-in1967
plenary1969
catch-up1972
rencontre1975
schmoozefest1976
society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > election of representative body by vote > [noun] > selection of candidates > U.S. primary election
primary1859
1859 N.Y. Times 14 Sept. 4/4 This gave him the primaries, and the primaries gave him the coveted nomination.
1880 ‘E. Kirke’ Life J. A. Garfield 31 The clergy..and many of the leading business men..never attend the township caucus, the city primaries, or the county convention.
1900 B. C. Clark in Mod. Eloquence X. p. xvii Those of you who remember as I do the times that tried men's souls will not, I hope, forget their humble servant when the primaries shall be held.
1930 Economist 7 June 1267/1 They have nominated Mr. Franklin Fort, a ‘dry’ Congressman, as his opponent in the Republican ‘primaries’.
1976 Times 26 Feb. 15/2 Sitting Presidents need to do far more than escape disaster in the primaries, which are popularity contests among their own party's voters.
2003 Philadelphia Inquirer 16 May b6/5 Eleven of the candidates are ‘cross-filing’ in both Republican and Democratic primaries.
8. Physics and Astronomy. A primary ray or particle, esp. a primary cosmic ray (cf. sense A. 22).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > ionizing radiation > [noun] > cosmic rays
primary1923
cosmic rays1925
1923 Physical Rev. 22 243 The emission is comprised in part of electrons whose speeds are not appreciably less than that of the primaries.
1932 Physical Rev. 41 545 The average number of secondaries per primary is about 100 in iron and 230 in lead.
1942 J. D. Stranathan ‘Particles’ of Mod. Physics xii. 488 Many of the primaries and many of the large number of secondaries formed high in the atmosphere are unable to penetrate the entire atmosphere.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia V. 203/1 The discovery in meteoritic crystals of particle tracks produced by primaries heavier than iron.
2005 Jrnl. Physics G 31 1418 (table) Relative dependence of estimators at 600 m on the zenith angle for proton and iron primaries at 1020 eV.
9. Grammar. A word or group of words (typically a noun or noun phrase) of primary importance in a phrase or sentence. Originally in Otto Jespersen's terminology (cf. adjunct n. 3a(b), subjunct adj. and n.); now usually contrasted with secondary or attribute.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic unit or constituent > [noun] > word or phrase of specific rank or importance
quaternary1899
adjunct1914
subjunct1914
adnex1924
primary1924
secondary1924
tertiary1924
focus1966
1914 O. Jespersen Mod. Eng. Gram. II. i. 2 In the combination extremely hot weather, weather may be called a primary word or a principal.]
1924 O. Jespersen Philos. Gram. vii. 97 We may, of course, have two or more coordinate adjuncts to the same primary: thus, in a nice young lady, the words a, nice, and young equally define lady.
1935 Jrnl. Eng. & Germanic Philol. 34 416 All that the primaries..have in common is their noun character; it would be simpler and clearer to call them nouns and noun-equivalents.
1957 S. Potter Mod. Ling. v. 115 In the phrase good men there are two ranks: men is the head-word or primary and good is the attribute or secondary.
1995 F. Plank in F. Plank Double Case i. 19 Apart from being syntactic primaries, these nouns could also serve as secondaries, as attributes to principal nouns.
10. Medicine. A primary neoplasm (cf. sense A. 10).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > growth or excrescence > [noun] > tumour > other tumours
polypusa1398
polypa1400
ecchymoma?1541
cat's hair1552
pneumatocele1585
thrombus1676
morum1684
physocele1706
haematocele1724
myxosarcoma1802
moro1807
lipoma1830
tuberculomaa1836
melanoma1838
pancreatoid1842
enchondroma1847
pseudoplasm1847
myeloma1848
tyroma1848
haematoma1849
adenocele1850
pachydermatocele1854
myosarcoma1857
angioma1858
myxoma1860
gliosarcoma1869
lymphadenoma1873
lymphoma1873
myoma1875
odontoma1876
teratoid tumour1876
teratoma1879
fibro-lipoma1882
embryoma1886
haemangioma1890
tubulodermoidc1900
plasmoma1901
astrocytoma1903
adamantinoma1904
hamartoma1904
plasmocytoma1907
mesothelioma1909
plasmacytoma1909
neuroblastoma1910
neurocytoma1910
paraganglioma1914
carcinoid1925
oligodendroglioma1926
mastocytoma1927
phaeochromocytoma1929
ameloblastoma1931
Schwannoma1932
myoblastoma1934
neurilemmoma1943
primary1957
neurolemmoma1964
vipoma1973
prolactinoma1975
somatostatinoma1977
1957 Internat. Jrnl. Appl. Radiation & Isotopes 2 258/1 The sterilization of early micro-metastases at a distance from the primaries.
1984 J. R. Tighe & D. R. Davies Pathol. (ed. 4) x. 69 The original tumour is known as the primary.
2004 Clin. Oncol. 16 105/2 It [sc. signet ring cell carcinoma] has been described most commonly in the stomach, but also as a primary in the colon, pancreas, breast, bladder, prostate and rarely the lung.

Compounds

primary age n. Education the stage of life during which children receive primary education, typically (in the United Kingdom) between the ages of about five and eleven; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > child > [adjective]
smalla1325
impuberala1856
impubic1876
impuberate1880
primary age1893
primary1908
preadolescent1910
subadolescent1910
subteenage1939
rising fives1968
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [adjective] > primary or prep school pupil
preparatory1858
primary age1893
preppy1900
1893 Cent. Mag. Jan. 476/1 In the primary age the child has begun to feel the desire for learning the conventional instruments invented by the race for communicating and preserving human experience.
1929 in G. M. Whipple Preschool & Parental Educ. i. viii. 225 We ordinarily have three groups before our first primary-age level: a group of children from two to three approximately, three to four, and four to five.
1992 Times Educ. Suppl. 31 Jan. 86/2 (advt.) The postholder should have experience of teaching primary age pupils with learning, sensory and emotional difficulties.
primary air n. see sense A. 25.
primary amputation n. Surgery amputation performed immediately after an injury or as a first line of treatment; amputation performed before the onset of infection or gangrene; an instance of this (cf. secondary amputation at secondary adj. 5e).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > surgery > removal by surgical means > [noun] > by cutting away > amputation > types of
primary amputation1828
secondary amputation1837
self-amputation1849
transfixion1872
transfixation1889
1828 Lancet 17 May 205/2 From untoward circumstances, primary amputation had been postponed beyond the usual time, so that the tissues had become tumefied from serous and lymphatic effusion.
1975 Ann. Surg. 181 182 Femoroperoneal bypass was performed in preference to primary amputation in each case.
2004 Jrnl. Reconstructive Microsurg. 20 511 Diabetic patients, presenting with both peripheral vascular disease and large soft-tissue defects, are too often treated by primary amputation.
primary bow n. = primary rainbow n.
ΚΠ
1672 I. Newton in Philos. Trans. 1671 (Royal Soc.) 6 3084 Such are the drops on the inside of the primary bow.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 444 In the true or primary bow, the rays of light arrive at the spectator's eye after two refractions and one reflection.
1995 Sky & Telescope May 67/2 (caption) Rachel Funcheon took this picture from the side of a Missouri high-way just after an intense downpour. Her image clearly shows the brighter region inside the primary bow and Alexander's dark band between the primary and secondary.
primary caregiver n. chiefly North American the person who provides the majority of care or guardianship, esp. to a child or an infirm person.
ΚΠ
1972 Family Coordinator 21 95 A mode of intervention..is described in which another widow is the primary caregiver... They offer the newly bereaved individual an opportunity to get some help in coping with their grief.
1991 Canada Lutheran Nov. 6/1 Home-based hospices are not available in Canada as far as I know. A primary caregiver in the home, usually a spouse or offspring, is a necessary factor in this model.
2006 N.Y. Times (Electronic ed.) 19 Feb. xiv. 11 The Legislature should require that child custody be awarded to the parent who was the primary caregiver during the marriage to ensure stability and continuity of care for children.
primary caretaker n. chiefly North American = primary caregiver n.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > upbringing > [noun] > one who brings up
nurshera1382
rearera1382
nurrya1387
nutrix?a1475
bringer up1529
nurturer1542
breedera1568
upbringerc1598
raiser-up1879
primary caretaker1914
motherer1974
1914 Manitoba Free Press 25 Dec. 1/5 The children's primary caretaker, the Children's Aid society, have arranged to look after 10,000 juveniles.
1969 Child Devel. 40 626 Learning theory would predict that the amount of early social reinforcement an infant receives from his primary caretakers should generalize to his..behavioral output toward other adults.
2005 Wall St. Jrnl. (Electronic ed.) 19 Oct. [She] is the primary caretaker for her mother, who has an illness.
primary cell wall n. Botany the first cell wall to be formed in plant cell development.
ΚΠ
1872 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 162 205 This tissue consists of simple prosenchyma, the walls exhibiting no traces of the pits or extensions of the protoplasm..to the primary cell-wall, seen in the true prosenchyma of Conifers.
1952 A. Frey-Wyssling in Struct. Aspects of Cell Physiol. 320 The development of cell walls, especially in the cells of higher plants, passes through two different stages. As long as there is growth in area, they remain thin and flexible. This fine membrane is called the primary cell wall.
2002 Plant Cell Physiol. 43 1421/2 The plant primary cell wall is a dynamic structure that exhibits considerable spatial and temporal variability in terms of composition and organization.
primary constriction n. Genetics a cytologically defined chromosomal constriction associated with and determined by the centromeric region.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > genetic components > [noun] > chromosome > centromere > parts associated with
prochromosome1905
primary constriction1932
1932 C. D. Darlington Rec. Adv. in Cytol. 495 Primary or attachment constriction, that always associated with the spindle attachment.
1969 W. V. Brown & E. M. Bertke Textbk. Cytol. xviii. 344/1 This ‘constriction’ associated with the centromere is often loosely called the centromere, or kinetochore, but more exactly it is the primary constriction.
2003 Current Opinion in Genetics & Devel. 13 191/1 The centromere is the locus responsible for the segregation of chromosomes during mitosis and meiosis... The kinetochore complex assembles at this site and in many organisms is visible as the primary constriction.
primary dealer n. (a) Business a distributor or wholesaler purchasing directly from producers; (b) Finance a dealer authorized to deal directly with a country's central bank.
ΚΠ
1914 Manitoba Free Press 25 July 22/4 One of these descriptions, that of primary dealer, is new. It is intended to include a class of buyer formerly not comprised within the terms of the act.
1949 N.Y. Times 2 Mar. 4 (advt.) As a primary dealer in U.S. Government bonds, notes, certificates and discount bills, Bankers Trust maintains a market in these securities.
2003 J. A. Crutchfield & A. Zellner Econ. Marine Resources & Conservation Policy xi. 105/2 The gap between market prices and fishing costs..could even attract large secondary wholesalers and chain retailers into bypassing existing primary dealers entirely.
2005 Euromoney (Electronic ed.) Dec. Bankers say that many of Europe's debt management offices are abusing their power over their primary dealers to keep costs of issuance down.
primary education n. education which provides the rudiments of knowledge; early or elementary schooling; spec. (in the United Kingdom) the education of children between the ages of about five and eleven years.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > [noun] > systematic education > education at school > at primary school
primary instruction1811
primary education1818
1818 Rep. Commissioners Univ. Virginia 4 Aug. 4 The objects of this primary education determine its character and limits.
1868 J. E. T. Rogers Man. Polit. Econ. xx. 260 The German emigrants.., most of whom are fairly possessed of primary education, are much more handy than those who come from states where equal care is not taken.
1933 C. L. Fry in O. A. Petty India–Burma 38 In the field of primary education the number of scholars in mission schools also increased much less rapidly than those in Government and non-mission schools.
1993 Times Educ. Suppl. 5 Mar. (Review Suppl.) 5/5 It is entirely unrealistic to see state primary education as if it were private preparatory schooling.
primary endosperm nucleus n. Botany the triploid nucleus which results from the fusion of the two polar nuclei of the embryo sac with a sperm nucleus, and which (usually) divides to form the endosperm tissue.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > cell or aggregate tissue > [noun] > cell > parts of cell > other parts
disc1835
crystalloid1863
autoplast1884
plastid1885
granum1894
primary endosperm nucleus1897
chromoplast1902
phragmoplast1904
plasmodesma1905
phragmosome1940
1897 Bot. Gaz. 23 147 There is no primary endosperm nucleus formed by the fusion of polar nuclei, but an endosperm formed before fertilization.
1938 H. E. Hayward Struct. Econ. Plants 137 This [fertilization] is double in character, one microgamete uniting with the megagamete to form the zygote, the other with the polar nuclei to form the primary endosperm nucleus.
2004 Plant Sci. 167 575/1 Double fertilization results in the dipoid zygote, which develops into the embryo and the triploid primary endosperm nucleus, developing into the endosperm.
primary evidence n. Law evidence, such as the original of a document, that by its nature does not suggest that better evidence is available; cf. secondary evidence n. at secondary adj. 1i.
ΚΠ
1793 tr. in London Chron. 7 Sept. 243/3 The primary evidence, that is, the ship's papers, and the preparatory examinations, were sufficiently conclusive.
1886 H. G. Wood Pract. Evid. i. 3 That received is merely a copy and therefore without any of the essential elements of primary evidence.
1942 Columbia Law Rev. 42 1133 The attesting witnesses provide the primary evidence of valid execution.
2011 Afr. News (Nexis) 9 Mar. He also pointed out that it is primary evidence as it is an original.
primary forest n. see sense A. 24b.
primary group n. Sociology a small social group based on close personal contact and mutual concern, such as a family or team.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > [noun] > social group > basic
primary group1909
1894 A. W. Small & G. E. Vincent Introd. Study of Society iii. ii. 183 (heading) The primary social group: the family.]
1909 C. H. Cooley Social Organization iii. 23 By primary groups I mean those characterized by intimate face-to-face association and coöperation.
1950 G. C. Homans Human Group i. 1 A number of persons who communicate with one another often over a span of time, and..few enough so that each person is able to communicate with all the others..face-to-face. Sociologists call this the primary group.
1991 M. Mackie Gender Relations Canada v. 103/2 Family and peer groups are the prototypical primary groups. There, people are valued and treated as total personalities.
primary humour n. now historical each of the four cardinal humours (humour n. 1a) of the body.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > secretory organs > secretion > [noun] > fluid secretion > humours > specific humours
phlegmc1250
moisturea1387
melancholyc1390
cholera1393
black humoura1398
choleraa1398
melancholiaa1398
coldness1398
sanguineness1530
atrabile1594
combust choler1607
primary humour1621
black bile1634
cambium1634
yellow bile1634
kapha1937
pitta1937
dosha1959
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. i. ii. ii. 21 To maintaine those foure first primary Humors.
1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 9 556 We cannot admit..that the hypothesis of four primary humours..was already established in the writings of Hippocrates.
1944 isis 35 19/2 The kind and degree of therapeutic interference were dependent on..the seven res naturales (elements, temperaments, primary humours, parts of the body, forces, functions, vital spirits).
primary instruction n. now somewhat archaic early or elementary schooling; primary education.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > [noun] > systematic education > education at school > at primary school
primary instruction1811
primary education1818
1811 Times 12 July 2/5 For the primary instruction of children, His Majesty perceives with pleasure the establishment of small schools upon Dr. Bell's and Mr. Lancaster's plans.
1861 M. Arnold Pop. Educ. France 2 M. Magin, now Inspector-General of primary instruction, and formerly Rector of the Academy of Nancy.
1923 H. G. James & P. A. Martin Republics of Lat. Amer. (rev. ed.) iv. 155 In some of the states primary instruction is compulsory and extensive, while in others it is not compulsory and very limited.
1999 Scotsman (Nexis) 10 Mar. 11 My primary instruction of Scottish history was inadequate... Several of my peers learnt nothing but Scottish history during history lessons at primary school.
primary legislation n. (a) originally British legislation introduced by the government, e.g. by Act of Parliament, which therefore forms the framework or prompt for subsequent legislation; (b) U.S. legislation relating to primary elections.
ΚΠ
1867 Times 4 Sept. 5/5 It would be found..that all the lines were paying their working expenses, and would be paying all their interest charges, had the primary legislation for railways only allowed an irredeemable debenture issue.
1898 N.Y. Times 18 Jan. 4 Representatives of the reform movement..were in conference with Gov. Black this morning for over an hour on the question of primary legislation.
1958 A. Leiserson Parties & Politics vi. 245 These ideas are reflected in the laws of several states which have experimented with primary legislation during the past ten years.
2004 Daily Tel. 28 Jan. 5/6 If the Government wanted to raise the £3,000 figure before 2010 it would need to introduce a new Bill,..known as primary legislation.
primary market n. originally U.S. (a) Business a market trading in commodities directly supplied by producers; (b) Finance the market in which newly issued securities are sold for the first time.
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society > trade and finance > trading place > market > [noun] > other types of market
market overt1555
money market1787
pitched1805
farmers' market1847
primary market1859
perfect market1889
energy market1920
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > traffic in stocks and shares > types of market
commodity market1843
primary market1859
short interest1866
bear market1873
aftermarket1887
terminal market1887
Kaffir Circus1889
shop1889
bull market1891
open1898
curb-market1900
the junglea1901
jungle-market1900
short market1900
down market1915
short end1964
third market1964
Unlisted Securities Market1979
USM1979
bulldog market1980
1859 La Crosse (Wisconsin) Independent Republican 30 Mar. 1/7 The grain trade, of which Chicago is the greates[t] primary market in the world.
1871 N.Y. Times 1 July 2/5 New-York is the place where the corporation is established, and is the primary market for the sale of the stock.
1959 Times 30 July 11/2 The turnover of the London gold market will not be favourable, even though it retains its undisputed position as the world's foremost primary market for gold bullion.
2003 D. L. Scott Wall St. Words (ed. 3) 266 Paid-in capital is generated when a firm issues stock in the primary market, not when the stock is traded in the secondary market.
primary meristem n. Botany a region of plant tissue consisting of actively dividing, undifferentiated cells; esp. an apical meristem.
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1875 A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. 117 This tissue is termed Primary Meristem [Ger. Urmeristem]..because it presents the primary condition of the tissue, out of which the different forms of the permanent tissue are successively formed.
1939 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 25 445 The primary meristem is essentially the functional embryo of the plant. It remains undifferentiated..and is the ultimate source of all organs of the plant.
2003 Trends Plant Sci. 8 542/2 The primary meristem of Arabidopsis can be considered to produce primordia that will give rise to a leaf and to an axiliary meristem.
primary mirror n. Astronomy (in a reflecting telescope) the main mirror that collects and focuses incoming light; = object mirror n. at object n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1935 N.Y. Times 11 Aug. n2/3 The image of the sun will be caught by a large primary mirror... Through other mirrors it will be reflected into the spectroscope.
1964 Science 12 June 1304/3 Since the telescope was intended to photograph stars down to magnitude 18.0.., the aperture of the primary mirror had to be not less than 60 inches.
2003 Astronomy Aug. 98/2 The Newtonian design uses a primary mirror and a second, ‘diagonal’ mirror.
primary oocyte n. Biology an oocyte that gives rise in the first division of meiosis to the secondary oocyte and a polar body; cf. secondary oocyte n. at secondary adj. 5d.
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1897 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 24 104 I propose to use the term[s] ‘primary sporocyte’ for the cells of the sixteen-cell stage, and ‘secondary sporocyte’ for cells of the thirty-two-cell stage. These terms are directly analogous to ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ ‘oöcyte’, and ‘spermatocyte’ in animal cells.
1946 B. M. Patten Human Embryol. ii. 31 The primary oöcyte divides to form two secondary oöcytes. One of these receives little cytoplasm and is called the first polar body.
1997 G. S. Helfman et al. Diversity of Fishes ix. 120/1 Oogenesis, the development of eggs, occurs within the ovary and also progresses through various stages involving oogonia, primary and secondary oocytes, and finally ova or eggs.
primary pit field n. Botany an area of reduced thickness in a primary cell wall, characteristically penetrated by numerous plasmodesmata.
ΚΠ
1934 Jrnl. Arnold Arboretum 15 332 Cambial walls are characterized by having more or less numerous plasmodesmata which may be..aggregated in thinner areas of the walls, i.e. in so-called primary pit-fields.
1992 M. Ingrouille Diversity & Evol. Land Plants 26 In parenchyma cells, the cell wall is uniformly thin except in areas with dense plasmodesmata, the primary pit field, where it is even thinner.
primary poverty n. (in social economics) the condition of lacking the means to provide even the basic necessities of life.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > extreme poverty or destitution
nakedness1526
starkness1544
beggary1581
destitutiona1600
primary poverty1901
down-and-outness1907
Tobacco Road1937
1901 B. S. Rowntree Poverty p. viii Families whose total earnings are insufficient to obtain the minimum necessaries... Poverty falling under this head I have described as ‘primary’ poverty.
1964 M. Laski in S. Nowell-Smith Edwardian Eng. iv. 173 Primary poverty, that is to say,..conditions where the family income..is insufficient to maintain health and working efficiency.
2000 Independent 4 July (Tuesday Review section) 5/3 The US still has..more inequality and primary poverty.
primary radar n. see sense A. 30.
primary rainbow n. the rainbow produced when light is dispersed within each raindrop by refraction with a single internal reflection, having colours ranging from red on the outside to violet on the inside, and which is the inner and usually brighter rainbow when two are seen (secondary bow or rainbow at secondary adj. 3g).
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the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > rainbow > [noun] > primary
primary rainbow1665
primary bow1672
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 48 The order of the Colours..was quite contrary to the primary or innermost Rainbow.
1793 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 83 1 In this shower two primary rainbows appeared.
1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics xxxii. 265 The primary or inner rainbow, which is commonly seen alone, is part of a circle whose radius is 41°.
1992 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 338 397 New features of the primary rainbow have been revealed in recent experiments.
primary road n. U.S. = main road n. (a) at main adj.2 Compounds 2 (in quot. 1888 referring to a railroad company).
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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > road > [noun] > main or major road
great road1614
high road1620
main road1741
highway1837
traffic artery1845
trunk road1848
main-way1862
arterial road1886
primary roada1903
route1912
arterial1920
major road1930
spine road1961
1888 Atlanta Constit. 25 July 7/1 The primary road will bill the car to any point desired, and as they nearly all come via Atlanta, when it arrives here it is turned over to the connecting line for the point to be reached.]
a1903 F. L. Ohmsted Landscape into Cityscape (1967) 372 If..such minor roads..should..be made very indirect and circuitous,..the public in general, keeping to the primary roads, would suffer no inconvenience.
1920 New Era (Humeston, Iowa) 25 Feb. 7/2 The 38th General Assembly..enacted what is known as the primary law setting aside approximately 6,400 miles of the main traveled roads of the state as primary roads.
1956 R. Braddon Nancy Wake xviii. 215 They had frequently to cross primary roads.
2001 Gazette (Wellsborough, Pa.) 11 July 1/3 They also hope to regrade the primary road that leads into the ski area before winter.
primary scholar n. Education a child who attends primary school.
ΚΠ
1850 Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) 23 July The primary scholars classed by themselves, with a teacher devoted entirely to them, will spend the school hours thrice as cheerfully and profitably.
1930 J. L. Barton Story Near East Relief iii. 38 The college student of today was a primary scholar when this organization was created.
1999 Evening Chron. (Newcastle) (Nexis) 12 Mar. 17 Education authorities across the region..have comprehensive drug awareness programmes not just for older children but for primary scholars as well.
primary school n. [after French école primaire (1791)] Education a school where young children are taught, a first or elementary school; spec. (a) (in the United Kingdom) a school for children between the ages of about five and eleven; (b) North American an elementary school, esp. one covering the first three or four grades (sometimes including kindergarten).
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society > education > place of education > school > [noun] > primary school
under-school1629
primer schoola1680
proseminary1774
primary school1792
dame-schoola1817
pettya1827
ma'am-school1838
elementary school1841
primary1851
prep school1862
minding-school1864
junior school1871
tother school1881
marm school1889
preparatory1904
terakoya1909
prep1924
prepper1956
1792Primary Schools [see sense A. 9].
1842 Biblical Repertory Apr. 219 The thing is made to suit the latitude of every college, academy,..primary school, infant school, [etc.]..in the republic.
1877 T. H. Huxley Physiography Pref. 6 The boys and girls who pass through an ordinary primary school.
1902 Wellsboro (Pa.) Agitator 22 Oct. 1/3 The speaker referred to the growing tendency in primary schools to minimize the importance of ‘number work’.
1958 K. Lovell Educ. Psychol. & Children xvi. 198 The primary school child like the pre-school child has his fears and anxieties.
1990 R. H. Bork Tempting of Amer. 48 The Society of Sisters operated primary schools that taught the subjects usually taught in the public schools and also provided systematic religious instruction.
2004 Daily Tel. 25 Aug. 18/3 When I was young, the ‘nit-nurse’ was a regular feature at primary school.
primary spermatocyte n. Biology a diploid spermatocyte that gives rise in the first division of meiosis to two secondary spermatocytes.
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the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > reproductive substances or cells > [noun] > sperm > sperm cell
spermatoon1852
spermatogonium1861
spermatocyte1886
spermatid1889
primary spermatocyte1896
spermogonium1913
1896 E. B. Wilson Cell iii. 122 The primary spermatocyte first divides to form two daughter-cells known as spermatocytes of the second order or sperm-mother-cells. Each of these divides again..to form two spermatids or sperm-cells.
1927 Jrnl. Exper. Zool. 49 463 The darkly colored pycnotic primary spermatocytes..are the most conspicuous cells in the germinal epithelium.
1999 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 96 5626/2 In late meiotic prophase..the primary spermatocyte nuclei make final preparations for the first meiotic division.
primary structure n. (a) Aeronautics the parts of an aircraft whose failure would seriously endanger safety; (b) Biochemistry the first level of complexity in the structure of a protein or nucleic acid molecule, consisting of the linear sequence of amino acid or nucleotide residues (cf. secondary adj. 3y).
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > essential structural parts
primary structure1939
1939 Aircraft Engin. Feb. 66/1 The primary structure of the main plane is erected in a wall jig.
1939 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 127 20 These protein molecules have a primary and a secondary structure. The primary structure is the polypeptide chain which may perhaps be arranged in cyclol cages.
1952 K. U. Linderstrøm-Lang Proteins & Enzymes 58 The presence of intrahelix as well as interhelix bonds may justify a classification into secondary (intrahelix) and tertiary (interhelix) structures, as distinct from the primary structure of the simple β-chain.
1964 J. E. D. Williams Operation of Airliners ix. 133 To ensure that throughout the operational life of the aircraft the possibility of disastrous fatigue failure is remote, the primary structure must either have an extremely long probable life or be designed to fail safely.
2003 Nature 30 Oct. 977/2 The primary structure of osteocalcin (OC) is highly conserved among vertebrates.
primary substance n. Philosophy (esp. in Aristotelian thought) a distinct individual entity, to which properties and attributes can be ascribed; = substance n. 2; cf. substance n. 4a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > substantiality or concreteness > [noun] > substantiality or subsistence > substance or being
being1340
substance1340
essencea1398
materialitya1529
stuff1587
subject1590
timber1612
primary substance1774
1774 H. Home Sketches Hist. of Man III. 155 Substances are either primary, to wit, individual substances, or secondary, to wit, the genera and species of substances.
1876 Encycl. Brit. V. 223/1 The first category is subdivided into..primary substance, which is defined to be..the singular thing in which properties inhere, and to which predicates are attached, and..genera or species which can be predicated of primary substances.
1901 O. J. Thatcher Ideas that have influenced Civilization II. 348 It belongs also to substance that there is no contrary to them, since what can be contrary to the primary substance, as to a certain ‘man’, or to a certain ‘animal’, for there is nothing contrary either at least to ‘man’ or to ‘animal’?
2000 Proc. Aristotelian Soc. 100 308 Each individual entity, or primary substance, is conceived as a compound of matter and form.
primary treatment n. (a) Medicine the first or main treatment administered to a patient; (b) the first stage in the treatment of waste water whereby solids and floating matter are removed by sedimentation.
ΚΠ
1808 Med. Repository 2nd Hexade 6 175 The want of success in the primary treatment of the disorder, is no impeachment of professional skill and knowledge.
1919 Decatur (Illinois) Rev. 13 July 26/2 It was thought that with only a primary treatment of the sewage the water for dilution would render the effluent from the plant sufficiently stable that it would not be objectionable.
1969 Sunday Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 18 May c6/3 Surgery and radiation are still the primary treatments for cancer but chemotherapy..is making contributions also.
1992 Operation Forestry Northwest June 37/2 Primary treatment consists of a clarifier and de-watering system for the removal of settleable solids.
primary wave n. see sense A. 26.
primary wing n. Entomology (now rare) either of the forewings of a four-winged insect.
ΚΠ
1815 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. III. xxxv. 642 In Attacus Atlas the primary wings are falcated or hooked at their apex.
1926 Amer. Naturalist 60 449 Primary wings are most affected, although the secondaries are reduced somewhat in length and venation.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

primaryv.

Brit. /ˈprʌɪm(ə)ri/, U.S. /ˈpraɪˌmɛri/, /ˈpraɪm(ə)ri/
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: primary n.
Etymology: < primary n.With sense 3 compare earlier use of various compounds of primary n. as verbs, e.g.:1904 T. Watson in C. V. Woodward Tom Watson (1938) 370 What can the negro do? He has been disfranchised in nearly every southern state..and in Georgia he has been ‘white primaried’.1908 Sandusky (Ohio) Star-Jrnl. 23 Jan. 8/3 The senator was out-primaried, if we may use that term.
U.S. Politics.
1. intransitive. To hold a primary election. rare.
ΚΠ
1916 Fort Wayne (Indiana) News 22 July 1/2 Texas Democrats today are primarying on everything from prohibition to dog warden.
2. intransitive. To run in a primary election.
ΚΠ
1951 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 23 Sept. 15/1 Newspaper polls in New Hampshire have raised the question whether General MacArthur will primary there next March.
1978 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald Jrnl. 22 Mar. 25/5 Robert Byrne..announced he was considering primarying against Walsh for the Republican nomination.
1997 News-Times (Danbury, Connecticut) (Electronic ed.) 2 Nov. Winkler primaried to win the party's endorsement over a candidate favored by Hapanowich.
2002 W. Kennedy Roscoe 128 I got a whole lot of friends who won't go your way if I don't, and we're ready to primary if we're not on your ticket.
3. transitive. To oppose in a primary election. Frequently in passive.
ΚΠ
1958 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant 12 Mar. 8/5 Kelly and Werner indicated after the meeting they would primary Curry and Margolis for Town Committee posts on April 16.
1982 N.Y. Times 30 May (Westchester section) 8/6 I was selected by the Republicans for the Port Chester seat, but John primaried me and won—by about 95 votes.
1997 Campaigns & Elections Aug. 7/2 When Chicago Mayor Richie Daley and other Democratic powers announced they'd stick with her, it probably shut down the once distinct possibility of Moseley-Braun being primaried.
2002 Los Angeles Times 25 Nov. b5 You've got Republicans sitting there..scared to death they'll get ‘primaried’ by some anti-taxer.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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