1. Not derived from something else; primary or basic.

2. a. Of or relating to an earliest or original stage or state; primeval. b. Being little evolved from an early ancestral type.

3. Characterized by simplicity or crudity; unsophisticated: primitive weapons. See synonyms at rude.

4. Anthropology. Of or relating to a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially one that is characterized by a low level of economic complexity: primitive societies.

5. Linguistics. a. Serving as the basis for derived or inflected forms: Pick is the primitive word from which picket is derived. b. Being a protolanguage: primitive Germanic.

6. Mathematics. An algebraic or geometric expression from which another expression is derived.

7. Relating or belonging to forces of nature; elemental: primitive passions.

8. a. Of or created by an artist without formal training; simple or naive in style. b. Of or relating to the work of an artist from a nonindustrial, often tribal culture, especially a culture that is characterized by a low level of economic complexity.

9. Of or relating to late medieval or pre-Renaissance European painters or sculptors.

10. Biology. Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.

1. Anthropology. A person belonging to a nonindustrial, often tribal society, especially a society characterized by a low level of economic complexity.

2. An unsophisticated person.

3. One that is at a low or early stage of development.

4. a. One belonging to an early stage in the development of an artistic trend, especially a painter of the pre-Renaissance period. b. An artist having or affecting a simple, direct, unschooled style, as of painting. c. A self-taught artist. d. A work of art created by a primitive artist.

5. Linguistics. A word or word element from which another word is derived by morphological or historical processes or from which inflected forms are derived.

6. Computer Science. A basic or fundamental unit of machine instruction or translation.