Primal

How to spell primal

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce primal

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does primal mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the earliest stage of something, or to basic instincts that feel ancient and fundamental.

Primal in a sentence

• The sudden roar triggered a primal urge to run.

• The documentary explored the primal landscape of the planet before life appeared.

Where does primal come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin primus, meaning 'first', which gave rise to the medieval Latin primalis, 'belonging to the first age' or 'original'. The sense English took from it is the idea of something that comes before everything else, the earliest or most fundamental layer of a thing. It entered English around the seventeenth century, at first describing the original or earliest state of the world, and later broadening to mean the deep, instinctive urges thought to predate civilised behaviour. The same primus root sits inside a large family of everyday words, including 'prime', 'primary', 'primitive' and 'premier', all carrying that flavour of being first or foremost. Remembering that link to 'prime' helps with the spelling, since both keep the plain prim- stem before their ending.

How the word is built

• prim- (from Latin primus: first)
• -al (adjective suffix)