primeval
/pɹaɪˈmivəl/prigh-MEE-vuhl
/pɹaɪˈmivəl/prigh-MEE-vuhl
Meaningof the first age
Common meaning: of the earliest ages
- primfirstLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1444 · scan
- eva lifetime, an age; endless timeLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 63 · scan
- aladjective ending: relating to
‘first’ + ‘a lifetime, an age’ → primeval
Journey through time
- prim — Latin prīmus “first” (path traced)
- ev — Latin aevum, -ī “a lifetime, an age; endless time” (path traced)
- Latinprīmus + aevum, -ī‘first + a lifetime, an age’
- Englishprimeval‘of the earliest ages’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Latin prīmus ‘first’ + Latin aevum ‘a lifetime, an age; endless time’.
Did you know (Latin primus, "first",…): our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry prīmus, p. 1444 · dictionary scan
Did you know (Latin aevum, an…): our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry aevum, p. 63 · dictionary scan
Roots
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app