Pri*mor"di*al (?), a. [L. primordialis, from primordium the first beginning; primus first + ordiri to begin a web, to begin: cf. F. primordial.]
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.
Primordial utricle Bot., the interior lining of a young vegetable cell.
© Webster 1913.
Pri*mor"di*al, n.
A first principle or element.
© Webster 1913.