English Explanatory Dictionary

primordial

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. First, earliest or original.
  2. Characteristic of the earliest stage of the development of an organism, or relating to a primordium.
  3. Primeval.
  4. Of an element or isotope: occurring primordially (on Earth) (i.e. inherited from when the Earth was formed); because it is stable, or radioactive but so long-lived that some is left over from when the Earth was formed. For example, primordial radioisotopes (T = half-life in years) include uranium-235 (T = 7×10⁸), potassium-40 (T = 1.25×10⁹), uranium-238 (T = 4.5×10⁹), and thorium-232 (T = 1.4×10¹⁰).
noun
  1. A first principle or element.
  2. A primordial condition or state.

Pronunciation

/pɹaɪˈmɔː.di.əl/ en-uk-primordial.ogg /pɹaɪˈmɔɹ.di.əl/ En-us-primordial.ogg /pɹɑɪˈmoː.di.əl/

Word forms

primordial primordials

Etymology

From the Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”). Compare primordium and -al.

Related words

exord exordium primordium

Derived words

equiprimordial nonprimordial primordial black hole primordial cell primordial chaos primordial element primordial fluctuations primordialism primordiality primordially primordial ocean primordial ooze primordial phallus primordial sea primordial sludge primordial soup
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