Hypertext Webster Gateway: "primordial"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Primordial \Pri*mor"di*al\, n.
A first principle or element.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Primordial \Pri*mor"di*al\, a. [L. primordialis, from primordium
the first beginning; primus first + ordiri to begin a web, to
begin: cf. F. primordial.]
1. First in order; primary; original; of earliest origin; as,
primordial condition. ``The primordial facts of our
intelligent nature.'' --Sir W. Hamilton.
2. (Geol.) Of or pertaining to the lowest beds of the
Silurian age, corresponding to the Acadian and Potsdam
periods in American geology. It is called also {Cambrian},
and by many geologists is separated from the Silurian.
3. (Biol.) Originally or earliest formed in the growth of an
individual or organ; as, a primordial leaf; a primordial
cell.
{Primordial utricle} (Bot.), the interior lining of a young
vegetable cell.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
primordial
adj : having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or
original stage or state; "aboriginal forests"; "primal
eras before the appearance of life on earth"; "the
forest primeval"; "primordial matter"; "primordial
forms of life" [syn: {aboriginal}, {primal}, {primeval},
{primaeval}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.