primitive

Definitions

1. 1adjective

   Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first; as, primitive innocence; the primitive church.

2. 2adjective

   Of or pertaining to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity; as, a primitive style of dress.

3. 3adjective

   Original; primary; radical; not derived; as, primitive verb in grammar.

4. 4noun

   An original or primary word; a word not derived from another; -- opposed to derivative.

5. 5noun

   a word serving as the basis for inflected or derived forms

   "`pick' is the primitive from which `picket' is derived"

6. 6noun

   a mathematical expression from which another expression is derived

7. 7noun

   a person who belongs to an early stage of civilization

8. 8adjective

   used of preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial societies

   "primitive societies"

9. 9adjective

   little evolved from or characteristic of an earlier ancestral type

   "archaic forms of life"

   "primitive mammals"

   Synonyms

   archaic
10. 10adjective

    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"

    Synonyms

    cruderude
11. 11adjective

    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"

    Synonyms

    naive