primeval

or pri·mae·val

[ prahy-mee-vuhl ]

adjective

1. of or relating to the first age or ages, especially of the world:

   primeval forms of life.

   Synonyms: pristine, primordial, primary

primeval

/ praɪˈmiːvəl /

adjective

1. of or belonging to the first age or ages, esp of the world

Derived Forms

• priˈmevally, adverb

Other Words From

• pri·meval·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of primeval¹

First recorded in 1765–75; from Latin prīmaev(us) “young” ( prīm(us) prime + aev(um) age + -us adjective suffix) + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of primeval¹

C17: from Latin prīmaevus youthful, from prīmus first + aevum age

Synonym Study

See prime.

Example Sentences

A few years later, he suggested that perhaps the cosmos began with all of its matter in a single point — the “primeval atom,” he called it.

From Science News

Travel to a land sculpted by ancient volcanoes, where crystal blue rivers carve their way through primeval forests, towering mountains give way to lush valleys and pristine lakes, and deep below the surface lie vast networks of cavernous wonders.

From Outside Online

In their statements, Yamaguchi and Schipper link primeval fables to modern ecological crises.

From Washington Post

The next night, after a rollicking, 27-mile day of trending downhill through primeval stadiums of hoodoos, arches and knee-buckling cliffs, the wigs come out.

From Washington Post

People come from around the world to fish for all five species of wild Alaska salmon, hunt everything from mountain goats to brown bears, and experience primeval wild country.

From Popular-Science

Bryan Hurt in Split Images and Raymond Cruz in City Primeval are cops.

From The Daily Beast

The landscape here, like all of Iceland, has a primeval majesty.

From The Daily Beast

The longing for a product that we have not yet experienced strikes some primeval need, particularly in Americans.

From The Daily Beast

There could never be anything friendly, anything possessing, in a land destined for a race of primeval giants.

From Project Gutenberg

She points to her pinions stretched over the abyss of primeval fire, her eyes blinded by its awful glare, and remains silent.

From Project Gutenberg

"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy," as this earth emerged from its primeval darkness.

From Project Gutenberg

The organization of man renders it questionable if his primeval ancestor was arboreal to any similar extent.

From Project Gutenberg

He wheeled toward the deepening night, the torn and soiled blue robe clinging to him as to the figure of a primeval god.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• prehistoric
• primal
• primitive
• primordial
• pristine