Etymology Borrowed from Latin prīmārius (“of the first (rank); chief, principal; excellent”), from prīmus (first; whence the English adjective prime) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French primaire, primer, and premier. Doublet of premier.
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First or earliest in a group or series.
Children attend primary school, and teenagers attend secondary school.
the church of Christ, in its primary institution1659, John Pearson, Exposition of the Creed:
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, Book II, Chapter VIII These I call original, or primary, qualities of body.
Preferred stock has primary claim on dividends, ahead of common stock.
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Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement.
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Medicine, Sciences Relating to the place where a disorder or disease started to occur.
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Medicine, Sciences Relating to day-to-day care provided by health professionals such as nurses, general practitioners, dentists etc.
Etymology Borrowed from Latin prīmārius (“of the first (rank); chief, principal; excellent”), from prīmus (first; whence the English adjective prime) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French primaire, primer, and premier. Doublet of premier.
Political science, Social sciences A primary election; a preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party, or the first round of a two-round election.
In recent primaries, for example, nearly 4% of absentees were rejected in Philadelphia; 8% in Kentucky; and 20% in parts of New York City.2020 September 14, Richard H. Pildes, “The three words that can avert an election nightmare”, in CNN:
Before Americans pick a president in November, they get to pick the candidates in a series of primaries and caucuses. […] Biden could still win New Hampshire’s primary through a write-in campaign, but the first sanctioned Democratic contest is in South Carolina in February.2024 January 22, Zachary B. Wolf, “2024 US presidential primaries, explained”, in CNN:
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The first year of grade school.
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A base or fundamental component; something that is irreducible.
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The most massive component of a gravitationally bound system, such as a planet in relation to its satellites.
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A primary school.
Excellence in Cities offers a further development of this approach, whereby secondary schools operate with small clusters of primaries as mini-EAZs.2001, David Woods, Martyn Cribb, Effective LEAs and school improvement:
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Biology, Natural sciences, Ornithology Any flight feather attached to the manus (hand) of a bird.
`Good Lord, look at that swiftlet, it's got two primaries missing from its left wing!'2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 115:
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A primary colour.
By adding and subtracting the three primaries, cyan, yellow, and magenta are produced. These are called subtractive primaries.2003, Julie A Jacko, Andrew Sears, The human-computer interaction handbook:
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Government, Military, Politics, War The first stage of a thermonuclear weapon, which sets off a fission explosion to help trigger a fusion reaction in the weapon's secondary stage.
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Aeronautics, Aerospace, Aviation, Business, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences A radar return from an aircraft (or other object) produced solely by the reflection of the radar beam from the aircraft's skin, without additional information from the aircraft's transponder.
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Medicine, Sciences The primary site of a disease; the original location or source of the disease.
Etymology Borrowed from Latin prīmārius (“of the first (rank); chief, principal; excellent”), from prīmus (first; whence the English adjective prime) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French primaire, primer, and premier. Doublet of premier.
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Government, PoliticsUS To challenge (an incumbent sitting politician) for their political party's nomination to run for re-election, through running a challenger campaign in a primary election, especially one that is more ideologically extreme.
In the New England town where he ran a “couple of night clubs” . he was “primarying the mayor."1974, Stan Steiner, The Islands: the Worlds of the Puerto Ricans, page 191:
What political facts of life underpin the hopes and dreams of democratic politicians who would take on the awesome task of “primarying” a two-term incumbent governor1980, Empire State Report, volumes 6-7, page 303:
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Each of the past few election cycles has featured at least one instance of “primarying,” a challenge to an incumbent on the grounds that he or she is not sufficiently partisan.2014, Sanford L. Jacobs, The Little Black Book of Political Wisdom:
The ad calls for loyal Tea Party members to step forward and run against all eighty-seven of the traitors in order to primary them.2014, Uncle Sam, How Fox News KO'd The Republican Party:
These instances of “primarying,” according to many, make Congress more partisan and extreme.2014, Robert G. Boatright, Congressional Primary Elections, page 8:
According to Boatright, 774 instances of challengers “primarying” sitting House incumbents occurred between 1970 and 2010.2017, Aaron S. King, Unfolding Ambition in Senate Primary Elections, page 19:
Both were worried that Bailey would break some of their delegate commitments to keep them from primarying.1981, Joseph I. Lieberman, The Legacy: Connecticut Politics, 1930-1980, page 171:
First, I'd challenge my opponent for the convention nomination. If I didn't prevail at the convention, that would be my answer. I wouldn't “primary” him—meaning, I wouldn't force a statewide primary election if he and I were the only two candidates in the field.2011, Christine O'Donnell, Troublemaker: Let's Do What It Takes to Make America Great Again, page 169:
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“That’s the fun part - finding out who’s the unknown person who may want to primary to get one of the positions,” Kolenberg said.2017 July 13, Angela Carella, “Stamford town clerk seeks nomination despite ballot probe”, in Stamford Advocate: