Etymology

Adjective

1. The first in a group or series.

   Children attend primary school, teenagers attend secondary school.

2. That which is placed ahead of others.

   Preferred stock has primary claim on dividends, ahead of common stock.

See also

• first
• primus inter pares
• secondary (2)
• tertiary (3)
• quaternary (4)

Noun

1. A preliminary election to select a political candidate.
2. The first year of grade school.
3. A base or fundamental component; something that is irreducible.
4. The most massive component of a gravitationally bound system.
5. A primary school.
   • 2001, David Woods, Martyn Cribb, Effective LEAs and school improvement

     Excellence in Cities offers a further development of this approach, whereby secondary schools operate with small clusters of primaries as mini-EAZs.

6. Any flight feather attached to the manus (hand) of a bird.
7. A primary colour.
   • 2003, Julie A Jacko, Andrew Sears, The human-computer interaction handbook

     By adding and subtracting the three primaries, cyan, yellow, and magenta are produced. These are called subtractive primaries.

Verb

1. To take part in a primary election