primordial Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or original stage or state
    primaeval; primal; aboriginal; primeval.
    • aboriginal forests
    • primal eras before the appearance of life on earth
    • the forest primeval
    • primordial matter
    • primordial forms of life

WordNet

Pri*mor"di*al adjective
Etymology
L. primordialis, from primordium the first beginning; primus first + ordiri to begin a web, to begin: cf. F. primordial.
Definitions
  1. First in order; primary; original; of earliest origin; as, primordial condition. "The primordial facts of our intelligent nature." Sir W. Hamilton.
  2. (Geol.) Of or pertaining to the lowest beds of the Silurian age, corresponding to the Acadian and Potsdam periods in American geology. It is called also Cambrian, and by many geologists is separated from the Silurian.
  3. (Biol.) Originally or earliest formed in the growth of an individual or organ; as, a primordial leaf; a primordial cell.
Pri*mor"di*al noun
Definitions
  1. A first principle or element.

Webster 1913