primordial
adjective
Sir Winston Churchill
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The history of "primordial" began when the Latin words primus (meaning "first") and "ordiri" (meaning "to begin") came together to form "primordium," the Latin word for "origin." When it entered English in the 14th century, "primordial" was used in the general sense "primeval." Early on, there were hints that "primordial" would lend itself well to discussions of the earth's origins. Take, for instance, this passage from a 1398 translation of an encyclopedia called On the Properties of Things: "The virtu of God made primordial mater, in the whiche as it were in massy thinge the foure elementis were . . . nought distinguishd." Nowadays, primordial matter is often referred to in evolutionary theory as "primordial soup," a mixture of organic molecules from which life on earth originated.
Examples of primordial in a Sentence
Joseph Bien-Kahn, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2024
For life to arise from Earth’s primordial ingredients, early cells needed some way to keep their contents from simply drifting away.
—Bymitch Leslie, science.org, 30 Oct. 2024
Pluto is geologically rich Despite its diminutive size, Pluto still has some primordial heat left to give.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
After all, there is something primordial about the simple act of hibernating; sitting wrapped up beside a roaring fire has the ability to instantly instil calm like nothing else.
—Delilah Khomo, theweek, 3 Oct. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near primordial
Cite this Entry
“Primordial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primordial. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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primordial
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