Etymologically
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primarius

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [priːˈmaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [priˈmaː.ri.us][1]

Forms

prīmārius (feminine prīmāria, neuter prīmārium); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin primus (“first”) + -ārius.[2][1] The TLL, after Leumann, thinks it was formed from prīmus used as a noun.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it of a leading man and of a first-rate parasite.[2][4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant of the highest rank, leading, as Terence's ladies of the first rank and Cicero's leading man of the people.[2][6] It meant first-rate at something, as Pliny's first-rate warrior and Apuleius' Demosthenes, master of speaking.[2] Apuleius also uses it of things, chief, most important.[2] The Vulgate uses lapis prīmārius of the foundation stone.[6]

In medieval Latin it meant original, primordial, the first of a number and primary.[7][8] As a noun it was a chief man or governor, from Gregory the Great, and in 1323 an elementary book.[5] English primary is recorded in the early 15th century as “earliest, most basic”.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a leading man.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a leading citizen.[2][5]
  • 540–604 AD – Gregory the Great uses it as a noun for a chief.[5]
  • early 15th century – English primary is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of the first rank, leading, chief.[2][10]
  2. First-rate, excellent.[2][4]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Original, primary.[7][8]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A chief man, governor; an elementary book.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press