[prim.er] n [ME, fr. ML primarium, fr. LL, neut. of primarius primary] (14c) 1: a small book for teaching children to read
2: a small introductory book on a subject
[2]prim.er n (1819) 1: a device for priming; esp: a cap, tube, or wafer containing percussion powder or compound used to ignite an explosive charge
2: material used in priming a surface--called also prime coat
3: a molecule (as a short strand of RNA or DNA) whose presence is required for formation of another molecule (as a longer chain of DNA)