English Explanatory Dictionary

prime

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj

First in importance, degree, or rank.
First in time, order, or sequence.
First in excellence, quality, or value.
Having exactly two integral factors: itself and unity (1 in the case of integers).
Such that if it divides a product, it divides one of the multiplicands.
Having its complement closed under multiplication.
Such that the annihilator of any nonzero submodule is equal to the annihilator of the whole module.
Marked or distinguished by the prime symbol.
Early; blooming; being in the first stage.
Lecherous, lewd, lustful.

noun

The first hour of daylight; the first canonical hour.
The religious service appointed to this hour.
The early morning generally.
The earliest stage of something.
The most active, thriving, or successful stage or period.
The chief or best individual or part.
Something which is first in importance or rank: a prime defense company, mortgage lender, etc.
The first note or tone of a musical scale.
The first defensive position, with the sword hand held at head height, and the tip of the sword at head height.
A prime element of a mathematical structure, particularly a prime number.
A four-card hand containing one card of each suit in the game of primero; the opposite of a flush in poker.
A series of consecutive blocks. A prime of six prevents the opponent's pieces from passing.

verb

To fill or prepare the chamber of a mechanism for its main work.
To apply a coat of primer paint to.
To be renewed.
To serve as priming for the charge of a gun.
To work so that foaming occurs from too violent ebullition, which causes water to become mixed with, and be carried along with, the steam that is formed.
To apply priming to (a musket or cannon); to apply a primer to (a metallic cartridge).
To prepare; to make ready.
To instruct beforehand, as for an examination; to coach.
To trim or prune.
To mark with a prime mark.

noun

An intermediate sprint within a race, usually offering a prize and/or points.

name

A surname.

Pronunciation

prīm /pɹaɪ̯m/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-prime.wav /pɹiːm/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-prime2.wav

Word forms

prime primer primest primes priming primed

Etymology

From Middle English prime, from Old French prime and its etymon, Latin prīmus (“first”), from earlier prīsmos < *prīsemos < Proto-Italic *priisemos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“beyond, before”). Doublet of primo and primus. The noun sense "apostrophe-like symbol" originates from the fact that the symbol ′ was originally a superscript Roman numeral one.

Synonyms

greatest main most important primary principal top earliest first original excellent top quality indivisible morning early morning bloom blossom efflorescence flower flush heyday peak choice prize quality select prime number white ground undercoat

Antonyms

composite

Related words

primal primary primate Primates primy

Derived words

almost prime book of prime entry co-prime egg prime directive essential prime implicant in prime twig interprime megaprime non-essential prime implicant prime constellation prime contract prime contractor prime cost prime cut prime-cut prime decomposition prime directive prime factor prime factorisation prime factorization prime field prime form prime formula prime gap prime ideal prime implicant primely prime meridian prime minister prime ministerial prime ministership prime ministry prime mover primeness prime number prime-numbered prime number theorem prime rate prime reciprocal magic square prime rib prime ring prime subring prime suspect prime time prime-time pump-prime relatively prime sub-prime subprime twin prime pair vice prime minister nonprime unprime antiprime backprime Belphegor's prime cuban prime Eisenstein prime eta prime past one's prime

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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