Definition of "primitive" []

• Not derived from something else; primary or basic. (adjective)
• Of or relating to an earliest or original stage or state; primeval. (adjective)
• Being little evolved from an early ancestral type. (adjective)
• Characterized by simplicity or crudity; unsophisticated: primitive weapons. See Synonyms at rude. (adjective)
• Anthropology Of or relating to a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially one that is characterized by a low level of economic complexity: primitive societies. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The second operation which forms new primitive recursive functions from initial primitive recursive functions is called ˜primitive recursion™ and is formally defined as follows:"
• "It is primitive, _but not consistently primitive_."
• "The village was a place of stereotypes brought to life, where the word primitive bubbled to the lips."