Primordial Meaning
/pɹaɪˈmɔː.di.əl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjFirst, earliest or original.
adjCharacteristic of the earliest stage of the development of an organism, or relating to a primordium.
Sentence Examples
Bennu is a primordial artifact preserved in the vacuum of space.
Our biological ancestors thrived in the primordial soup hundreds of millions of years ago.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ soup is believed to have given rise to early life.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Scientists believe that life on Earth began in a ____ soup of organic chemicals in the ancient oceans.
Word Origin & History
From the Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”). Compare primordium and -al.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"the primordial facts of our intelligent nature"
— a. 1857, William Hamilton, edited by H[enry] L[ongueville] Mansel and John Veitch, Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1859–1860, →OCLC:
"As an archetypal image of primordial unity, the cosmic egg suggests that there is unity and fragmentation, eternity and time."
— 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light:Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, page 9:
"With a horrified shriek she tore herself from Tarzan’s arms, and the ape-man turned just in time to ward with his arm a terrific blow that De Coude had aimed at his head. Once, twice, three times the heavy stick fell with lightning rapidity, and each blow aided in the transition of the ape-man back to the primordial."
— 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 45:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ soup is believed to have given rise to early life.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Scientists believe that life on Earth began in a ____ soup of organic chemicals in the ancient oceans.