prime

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /pɹaɪ̯m/ See IPA manual

Freq #2174

Meanings

1

adj
Most important; main.

Our prime concern is the safety of the children.
2

adj
Of the best quality or value.

This is a prime location for a new restaurant.
3

adj
Of a number that can only be divided by itself and one.

Seven is a prime number.
4

verb
To prepare something for use or action.

They primed the wall before painting it.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · most important; main. main primary principal

2 adj · of the best quality or value. excellent

4 verb · to prepare something for... undercoat

More morning

Opposites

composite

Word family

Forms primedprimespriming

Derived forms antiprimebackprimeco-primecrossprimedeprimeinterprimemegaprimemisprimenonprimeoverprimeprimabilityprimality

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

prime mover
an uncaused first cause proposed to explain the origin of all other causes

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Prime comes from Latin primus, “first,” and entered English as an adjective in the late Middle Ages. The verb originally meant “to fill or load,” especially to prepare a gun for firing, probably because priming was the first operation performed before use.

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.

*per- Proto-Indo-European prime Middle English prīmus Latin *priisemos Proto-Italic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# prime

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj, verb
**IPA (US):** /pɹaɪ̯m/
**Frequency rank:** 2174

## Meanings
1. Most important; main.
2. Of the best quality or value.
3. Of a number that can only be divided by itself and one.
4. To prepare something for use or action.

## Examples
- Our prime concern is the safety of the children.
- This is a prime location for a new restaurant.
- Seven is a prime number.
- They primed the wall before painting it.

## Synonyms
- morning

## Antonyms
- composite

## Derived Forms
- antiprime
- backprime
- co-prime
- crossprime
- deprime
- interprime
- megaprime
- misprime
- nonprime
- overprime
- primability
- primality

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *per-
- Root: prime
- Root: prīmus
- Root: *priisemos

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Prime comes 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. In present-day English it covers most important; main, of the best quality or value, and of a number that can only be divided by itself and one. The wider family includes derived forms such as antiprime, backprime, co-prime, crossprime, deprime.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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