different between primitive vs initial

English

Alternative forms

• primative (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old French primitif, from Latin pr?mit?vus (“first or earliest of its kind”), from pr?mus (“first”); see prime. Doublet of primitivo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p??m?t?v/
• Rhymes: -?m?t?v
• Hyphenation: prim?i?tive

Noun

primitive (plural primitives)

1. (linguistics) An original or primary word; a word not derived from another, as opposed to derivative.
2. A member of a primitive society.
3. A simple-minded person.
4. (computing, programming) A data type that is built into the programming language, as opposed to more complex structures.
5. (computing, programming) Any of the simplest elements (instructions, statements, etc.) available in a programming language.
6. A basic geometric shape from which more complex shapes can be constructed.
7. (mathematics) A function whose derivative is a given function; an antiderivative.

Synonyms

• word: primitive word, radical, radical word

Translations

Adjective

primitive (comparative more primitive, superlative most primitive)

1. Of or pertaining to the beginning or origin, or to early times; original; primordial; primeval; first.

2. Of or pertaining to or harking back to a former time; old-fashioned; characterized by simplicity.

   Synonym: backwards
3. (Can we clean up⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Crude, obsolete.

   primitive ideas

4. (grammar) Original; primary; radical; not derived.

   Synonym: radical

   Antonyms: derivative, derived

   • 1831, Noah Webster, Rudiments of English Grammar; Being an Abridgment of the Improved Grammar of the English Language, New-Haven, p.6:

     Division of words. Words are primitive or radical, and derivative or compound.

     Of primitive words. Primitive or radical words are such as cannot be divided, or separated into parts which are significant; as man, hope, bless.

5. (biology) Occurring in or characteristic of an early stage of development or evolution.
6. (mathematics) Not derived from another of the same type

   Synonym: imprimitive

7. (linguistics, dated) most recent common ancestor (often hypothetical) of

   Synonym: proto-

   • 1933, Leonard Bloomfield, Language, Henry Holt, p. 13

     We infer that other groups of related languages, such as the Germanic (or the Slavic or the Celtic), which show a similar resemblance, have arisen in the same way; it is only an accident of history that for these groups we have no written records of the earlier state of the language, as it was spoken before the differentiation set in. To these unrecorded languages we give names like Primitive Germanic (Primitive Slavic, Primitive Celtic, and so on).

Derived terms

• multiprimitive
• primitiveness

Translations

References

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?i.mi.tiv/

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the main entry.

Adjective

primitive

1. feminine singular of primitif

Etymology 2

By ellipsis of [fonction] primitive.

Noun

primitive f (plural primitives)

1. (mathematics) antiderivative

   Antonym: dérivée

See also

• intégrale

Further reading

• “primitive” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

primitive

1. inflection of primitiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

primitive

1. feminine plural of primitivo

Latin

Adjective

pr?mit?ve

1. vocative masculine singular of pr?mit?vus

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

primitive

1. definite singular of primitiv
2. plural of primitiv

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

primitive

1. definite singular of primitiv
2. plural of primitiv

English

Etymology

From Middle French initial or straightway from its Latin etymon initi?lis (“of the beginning, incipient, initial”), from initium (“a going in, entrance, beginning”), from inire (“to go in, enter upon, begin”), from in (“in”) + ire (“to go”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n???l/
• Rhymes: -???l

Adjective

initial (not comparable)

1. Chronologically first, early; of or pertaining to the beginning, cause or origin.
2. Spatially first, placed at the beginning, in the first position; especially said of the first letter of a word.

Synonyms

• incipient
• opening

Antonyms

• final

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

initial (plural initials)

1. The first letter of a word or a name.
2. In plural, the first letter of each word of a person's full name considered as a unit.

   You can get your initials printed at the top.

3. (typography, calligraphy) A distinguished initial letter of a chapter or section of a document.
4. (phonology) onset, part of a syllable that precedes the syllable nucleus in phonetics and phonology.

Synonyms

• (typography, calligraphy): drop cap, versal

Derived terms

• initialism
• initial teaching alphabet

Translations

Verb

initial (third-person singular simple present initials, present participle initialing or initialling, simple past and past participle initialed or initialled)

1. (transitive) To sign one's initial(s), as an abbreviated signature.

Translations

Related terms

See also

• middle

Further reading

• initial in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• initial in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• initial at OneLook Dictionary Search

French

Etymology

From Latin initi?lis, from initium (“beginning”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.ni.sjal/
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

initial (feminine singular initiale, masculine plural initiaux, feminine plural initiales)

1. initial

Related terms

Further reading

• “initial” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ini?t?s??a?l/

Adjective

initial (not comparable)

1. initial, incipient

Declension

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin initi?lis.

Noun

initial m (definite singular initialen, indefinite plural initialer, definite plural initialene)

1. an initial (first letter of a name)

References

• “initial” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin initi?lis.

Noun

initial m (definite singular initialen, indefinite plural initialar, definite plural initialane)

1. an initial (first letter of a name)

References

• “initial” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.