primordium

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin prīmordium.

Noun

primordium (plural primordia)

1. (anatomy) An aggregation of cells that is the first stage in the development of an organ.

   Synonyms: anlage, (obsolete) proton

2. (history, theology) A primordial, original condition or event.
   • 1997 [1991], Alexandre Grandazzi, translated by Jane Marie Todd, The Foundation of Rome: Myth and History, →ISBN, page 33:

     It is thus vain to hope that the history of the primordia can be reduced to the progress of archeological investigation.

   • 2003, David Chidester, Salvation and Suicide: Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown, 2nd edition, →ISBN, page 106:

     Attempts have been made by historians of religion to distinguish between mythic orientations in time concerned with the repetition of a primordium and those concerned with the anticipation of an eschaton.

   • 2008, Richard L. Bushman, Mormonism: A Very Short Introduction, →ISBN, page 5:

     [Joseph Smith] did not think of himself as going back to a primordium of true Christianity, as the Puritans did. In his view, there never was a golden age when religion flourished to perfection.

Translations

first stage of development of an organ

• Finnish: alkio (fi)
• Galician: primordio (gl) m
• Indonesian: bakal (id)
• Polish: zawiązek m
• Portuguese: primórdio (pt) m

Latin

Etymology

From prīmus + root of ōrdior + -ium.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /priːˈmoːr.di.um/, [priːˈmoːrd̪iʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /priˈmor.di.um/, [priˈmɔrd̪ium]

Noun

prīmōrdium n (genitive prīmōrdiī or prīmōrdī); second declension

1. beginning, origin

   Synonyms: initium, prīncipium, exōrdium, orīgō, limen, rudīmentum

   Antonym: fīnis

2. commencement

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	prīmōrdium	prīmōrdia
Genitive	prīmōrdiī prīmōrdī1	prīmōrdiōrum
Dative	prīmōrdiō	prīmōrdiīs
Accusative	prīmōrdium	prīmōrdia
Ablative	prīmōrdiō	prīmōrdiīs
Vocative	prīmōrdium	prīmōrdia

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Derived terms

• prīmōrdiālis

Descendants

• Catalan: primordi
• Galician: primordio
• Italian: primordio
• Portuguese: primórdio
• Spanish: primordio