I. ˈprīm noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English prīm, 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
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, feminine of prim first, from Latin primus; akin to Latin prior
Date: 14th century
1. : first in time : original
2.
a. : of, relating to, or being a prime number — compare relatively prime
b. : having no polynomial factors other than itself and no monomial factors other than 1
a prime polynomial
c. : expressed as a product of prime factors (as prime numbers and prime polynomials)
a prime factorization
3.
a. : first in rank, authority, or significance : principal
a prime example
b. : having the highest quality or value
prime farmland
c. : of the highest grade regularly marketed — used of meat and especially beef
4. : not deriving from something else : primary
• prime·ly adverb
• prime·ness noun
III. verb
( primed ; prim·ing )
Etymology: probably from prime (I)
Date: 1513
transitive verb
1. : fill , load
2.
a. : to prepare for firing by supplying with priming
b. : to insert a primer into (a cartridge case)
3. : to apply the first color, coating, or preparation to
prime a wall
4.
a. : to put into working order by filling or charging with something
prime a pump with water
b. : to supply with an essential prerequisite (as a hormone, nucleic acid, or antigen) for chemical or biological activity
primed female mice with estrogen
5. : to instruct beforehand : coach
primed the witness
6. : stimulate
intransitive verb
: to become prime
•
- prime the pump