Did you know?
First things first. "Primeval" comes from the Latin words primus, meaning "first, and aevum, meaning "age." In Latin, those terms were brought together to form "primaevus," a word that means "of or relating to the earliest ages." Other English words that descend from "primus" include "prime" and "primary," "primordial" (a synonym of "primeval"), and "primitive." "Primus" also gave rise to some terms for folks who are number one in charge, including "prince" and "principal."
Examples of primeval in a Sentence
airmail.news, 16 Nov. 2024
Yakushima Island, located 37 miles south from the southern tip of Kyushu Island, is home to a primeval temperate rainforest with thousand-year-old cedar trees, known as yakusugi.
—Anna Mazurek, AFAR Media, 16 Dec. 2024
Goth, primeval décor is in the air, but this is an extreme case.
—Jocelyn Silver, Architectural Digest, 13 Dec. 2024
Guests are encouraged to join excursions, both by boat to see the island’s beaches and coves, and by land to explore that primeval rain forest.
—Ann Abel, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for primeval 
Dictionary Entries Near primeval
Cite this Entry
“Primeval.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primeval. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
from Latin primaevus "relating to the very earliest ages," from primus "first" and aevum "age" — related to prime
Share