primitive

/ˈpri-mə-tiv/

Middle English prymytyff, primitive "early (of the Christian church), non-corporeal (of the cause of a disease)," borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French primitif "original, primary (of a cause)," borrowed from Medieval Latin prīmitīvus "belonging to the earliest time or state, original," going back to Latin, "early, first-formed," from prīmitus "at first, for the first time, originally" (from prīmus "first, foremost, earliest" + -itus, adverbial suffix of origin) + -īvus -ive

adjective

  1. not derived : original, primary

  2. assumed as a basis; especially : axiomatic

  3. of or relating to the earliest age or period : primeval

noun

  1. something primitive; specifically : an original or primary idea, term, or proposition

  2. a root word

  3. an artist of an early period of a culture or artistic movement

noun

  1. an elongated band of cells that forms along the axis of a developing fertilized egg early in gastrulation and that is considered a forerunner of the neural tube and nervous system