n.
Pronunciation: ' pr ī m
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English pr ī m, from Latin prima hora first hour
Date: before 12th century
1 a often capitalized : the second of the canonical hours b : the first hour of the day usually considered either as 6 a.m. or the hour of sunrise
2 a : the earliest stage b : SPRING c : YOUTH
3 : the most active, thriving, or satisfying stage or period <in the prime of his life>
4 : the chief or best individual or part : PICK < prime of the flock, and choicest of the stall ― Alexander Pope>
5 : PRIME NUMBER
6 a : the first note or tone of a musical scale : TONIC b : the interval between two notes on the same staff degree
7 : the symbol ′ used to distinguish arbitrary characters (as a and a ′ ), to indicate a specific unit (as feet or minutes of time or angular measure), or to indicate the derivative of a function (as p ′ or f ′ (x) ) ― compare DOUBLE PRIME
8 : PRIME RATE