# primordial
## English
### Etymology

From the Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”). Compare primordium and -al.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /pɹaɪˈmɔː.di.əl/
** Audio (UK):(file)
* (US) IPA: /pɹaɪˈmɔɹ.di.əl/
** Audio (US):(file)
* (General Australian) IPA: /pɹɑɪˈmoː.di.əl/

### Adjective

primordial (not comparable)
* First, earliest or original.
** 1859–1860, William Hamilton, edited by H[enry] L[ongueville] Mansel and John Veitch, Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC:the primordial facts of our intelligent nature
** 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light:Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, page 9:As an archetypal image of primordial unity, the cosmic egg suggests that there is unity and fragmentation, eternity and time.
* (biology) Characteristic of the earliest stage of the development of an organism, or relating to a primordium.
    a primordial leaf; a primordial cell
* Primeval.
* Of an element or isotope: occurring primordially (on Earth) (i.e. inherited from when the Earth was formed); because it is stable, or radioactive but so long-lived that some is left over from when the Earth was formed. For example, primordial radioisotopes (T = half-life in years) include uranium-235 (T = 7×10$^8$), potassium-40 (T = 1.25×10$^9$), uranium-238 (T = 4.5×10$^9$), and thorium-232 (T = 1.4×10$^{10}$).

#### Derived terms

* primordial black hole
* primordial cell
* primordial chaos
* primordial element
* primordial fluctuations
* primordial ocean
* primordial ooze
* primordial phallus
* primordial sea
* primordial sludge
* primordial soup

#### Translations
### Noun

primordial (plural primordials)
* A first principle or element.

#### Translations
## French
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pʁi.mɔʁ.djal/

### Adjective

primordial (feminine primordiale, masculine plural primordiaux, feminine plural primordiales)
* primordial, primitive, original
    Synonyms: originel, primitif
    soupe primordiale ― primordial soup
* vital, essential, paramount, of paramount importance
    Synonyms: capital, essentiel

#### Derived terms

* primordialement

### Further reading

* “primordial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## German
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

primordial (strong nominative masculine singular primordialer, not comparable)
* primordial

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “primordial” in Duden online
* “primordial” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

## Indonesian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch primordiaal (“primordial”).

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Indonesian) IPA: /primorˈdial/ [pri.morˈdi.al]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: pri‧mor‧di‧al

### Adjective

primordial
* primordial

### Further reading

* “primordial” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Portuguese
### Etymology

From Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”).

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /pɾi.moʁ.d͡ʒiˈaw/ [pɾi.moɦ.d͡ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /pɾi.moʁˈd͡ʒjaw/ [pɾi.moɦˈd͡ʒjaʊ̯]
* (Brazil) IPA: /pɾi.moʁ.d͡ʒiˈaw/ [pɾi.moɦ.d͡ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /pɾi.moʁˈd͡ʒjaw/ [pɾi.moɦˈd͡ʒjaʊ̯]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /pɾi.moɾ.d͡ʒiˈaw/ [pɾi.moɾ.d͡ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /pɾi.moɾˈd͡ʒjaw/ [pɾi.moɾˈd͡ʒjaʊ̯]
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /pɾi.moʁ.d͡ʒiˈaw/ [pɾi.moʁ.d͡ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /pɾi.moʁˈd͡ʒjaw/ [pɾi.moʁˈd͡ʒjaʊ̯]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /pɾi.moɻ.d͡ʒiˈaw/ [pɾi.moɻ.d͡ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /pɾi.moɻˈd͡ʒjaw/ [pɾi.moɻˈd͡ʒjaʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /pɾi.muɾˈdjal/ [pɾi.muɾˈðjaɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /pɾi.muɾˈdjal/ [pɾi.muɾˈðjaɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /pɾi.muɾˈdja.li/ [pɾi.muɾˈðja.li]
* Rhymes: -al, -aw
* Hyphenation: pri‧mor‧di‧al

### Adjective

primordial m or f (plural primordiais)
* primordial (first, earliest or original)
    Synonym: primeiro
* primary, main, paramount
    Synonyms: capital, essencial, importante
** 1982, Bernardo Soares, Livro do Desassossego, Vol.II:Em mim o que há de primordial é o hábito e o jeito de sonhar.(please add an English translation of this quotation)

#### Derived terms

* primordialmente

#### Related terms

* primórdio

### Further reading

* “primordial”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French primordial. By surface analysis, primordiu +‎ -al.

### Adjective

primordial m or n (feminine singular primordială, masculine plural primordiali, feminine and neuter plural primordiale)
* primeval

#### Related terms

* primordialitate

## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin prīmōrdiālis (“of the beginning”). Cognate with English primordial.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pɾimoɾˈdjal/ [pɾi.moɾˈð̞jal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: pri‧mor‧dial

### Adjective

primordial m or f (masculine and feminine plural primordiales)
* primordial
* primary, paramount

#### Derived terms

* primordialmente

#### Related terms

* primordio

### Further reading

* “primordial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10