primordial
adjective
Sir Winston Churchill
Did you know?
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
Robert Lea, Space.com, 18 Mar. 2025
The rest of my day follows a familiar, primordial pattern: paddle, swim, birdsong, eat, drink, sunscreen, paddle, swim, sunscreen, birds, drink, eat, paddle, swim, paddle.
—Dan Rubinstein, Outside Online, 13 Mar. 2025
Dense clumps of primordial hydrogen and helium left over from the big bang collapsed under their own gravitational weight, igniting thermonuclear chain reactions at their cores that would light up the universe for the first time.
—Conor Feehly, Scientific American, 4 Mar. 2025
The company's Avian Genomics Group is close to achieving primordial germ cells in pigeons, which would allow genetic testing of dodo characteristics in pigeons – similar to the mouse-mammoth experiments.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for primordial
Cite this Entry
“Primordial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primordial. Accessed 12 Apr. 2025.
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primordial
adjective
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