Well-read · Time · Science & thinking
Primordial: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Primordial adjective. Existing at or from the very beginning of time or of the world.
How to say it
pry-MOR-dee-ul/prʌɪˈmɔːdɪəl/
4 syllables, stressed on the second (MOR).
Primordial in a sentence
Life may have begun in a warm primordial soup of chemicals.
There’s something primordial about sitting round a fire at night.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- primeval
- primal
- original
- ancient
Opposite:
- modern
Where primordial comes from
From Latin primordium, a beginning, from primus, first, and ordiri, to begin.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
There’s something _____ about sitting round a fire at night.
- superannuated
- vestigial
- primordial
Show the answer
primordial: There’s something primordial about sitting round a fire at night.