prime

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   being at the best stage of development

   our manhood's prime vigor- Robert Browning

2. 2
   adj

   of or relating to or being an integer that cannot be factored into other integers

   prime number

3. 3
   verb

   insert a primer into (a gun, mine, or charge) preparatory to detonation or firing

   prime a cannon

4. 4
   verb

   fill with priming liquid

   prime a car engine

5. 5
   verb

   cover with a primer

   apply a primer to

6. 6
   adj

   First in importance, degree, or rank.

   Our prime concern here is to keep the community safe.

7. 7
   adj

   First in time, order, or sequence.

   Both the English and French governments established prime meridians in their capitals.

8. 8
   adj

   First in excellence, quality, or value.

   This is a prime location for a bookstore.

Etymology

From Middle English prime, from Old French prime and its etymon, Latin prīmus (“first”), from earlier prīsmos < *prīsemos < Proto-Italic *priisemos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“beyond, before”). Doublet of primo and primus. The noun sense "apostrophe-like symbol" originates from the fact that the symbol ′ was originally a superscript Roman numeral one.