PRIM'ITIVE, a. [L. primitivus; from primus, first.] 1. Pertaining to the beginning or origin; original; first; as the primitive state of Adam; primitive innocence; primitive ages; the primitive church; the primitive christian church or institutions; the primitive fathers.2. Formal; affectedly solemn; imitating the supposed gravity of old times.3. Original; primary; radical; not derived; as a primitive verb in grammar.Primitive rocks, in geology, rocks supposed to be first formed, being irregularly crystallized, and aggregated without a cement, and containing no organic remains; as granite, gneiss, &c. PRIM'ITIVE, n. An original word; a word not derived from another.
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