prime

Pronunciation

• IPA: /praɪm/^[1]

Etymology

All its senses go back to Latin prīmus (“first; chief, excellent”),^[2][3] from Proto-Italic *prīsmos, a superlative of Proto-Indo-European *preis- (“before”),^[2] related to Old Latin prī “before” and to prior.^[3][4] The noun, the first canonical hour, is inherited from Old English prīm,^[3][5] from Medieval Latin prīma (“the first service”), from prīma hōra (“the first hour”),^[2][4] reinforced by Old French prime.^[3][6] The adjective, in late Middle English, is borrowed from Old French prime and directly from Latin prīmus.^[2][3] The verb, “to fill, load”, is probably from the adjective, since priming something is the first step before using it.^[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The canonical hour of prime, about 6 a.m.: about 961 in Old English.^[8][3] The adjective, “first in order of time, basic”, is from about 1385, in Usk's Testament of Love.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The noun came to mean the first hour of the day (about 1290)^[8] and the beginning of a period (1385, in Chaucer).^[3][2] From the idea of the time of greatest vigour (1530s) came “the springtime of human life”, roughly the ages 21 to 28, in the 1590s,^[2] and the best part of anything, also in the 1590s.^[2] The adjective meant “of the first excellence” from about 1400^[2] and “first in rank” from the 1610s;^[2] a prime number is from the 1560s^[2] and the prime meridian from 1878.^[2] Prime time first meant “spring time”, about 1500, and peak broadcasting hours by 1961.^[2] The verb, “to load a gun”, is from 1513, in a translation of the Aeneid;^[3] “to give a first coat of paint” is from 1609,^[3] and prime the pump, pouring water into a pump to start it, from 1769.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 961 – the canonical hour of prime.^[8][3]
• c. 1385 – adjective, first in time.^[3]
• c. 1400 – of the first excellence.^[2]
• 1513 – verb, to load a gun.^[3]
• 1560s – prime number.^[2]
• 1590s – the prime of life.^[2]
• 1609 – verb, to give a first coat.^[3]
• 1769 – prime the pump.^[2]
• 1961 – prime time.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. First in importance or rank; chief.
2. Of the best quality; excellent.
3. First in time or order; original.
4. (mathematics) Of a number, divisible only by itself and 1.

Noun

1. The time of greatest strength or success in a life: in her prime.
2. The best part of something.
3. The second of the canonical hours, about 6 a.m.
4. A prime number.

Verb

1. To make ready, as a gun for firing or a pump for working.
2. To give a first coat of paint or primer.
3. To prepare someone with information beforehand.

Word family

• primely
• primeness
• nonprime
• subprime
• primality
• reprime
• primer
• prime rate

Related words

• primal
• primary
• primate
• Primates
• primitive
• prince
• premier
• prior

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press