Primitive
WordNet
adjective
(1) Used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies
"Primitive societies"
(2) Little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type
"Archaic forms of life"
"Primitive mammals"
"The okapi is a short-necked primitive cousin of the giraffe"
(3) Belonging to an early stage of technical development; characterized by simplicity and (often) crudeness
"The crude weapons and rude agricultural implements of early man"
"Primitive movies of the 1890s"
"Primitive living conditions in the Appalachian mountains"
(4) Of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style
"Primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking"
noun
(5) A word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms
"`pick' is the primitive from which `picket' is derived"
(6) A mathematical expression from which another expression is derived
(7) A person who belongs to an early stage of civilization
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From primitif < < ; see prime.
Noun
- An original or primary word; a word not derived from another, as opposed to .
- A data type that is built into the programming language, as opposed to more complex structures.
Adjective
- Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church.
- Of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress.
- Original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar.
- Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.