Definition of: primary

(prī′mer·ē, -mər·ē) adjective
1. First in time or origin; primitive; original.
2. First in a series or sequence.
3. First in degree, rank, or importance; chief.
4. Constituting the fundamental or original elements of which a whole is comprised; basic; elemental: the primary forces of life.
5. Of the first stage of development; elementary; lowest: primary school.
6. Ornithol. Of or pertaining to the principal flight feathers of a bird's wing.
7. Geol. Paleozoic.
8. Electr. Of, pertaining to, or noting an inducing current or its circuit: a primary coil.
9. Chem. a Having some characteristic in the first degree, as an initial replacement, substitution, etc. b In organic compounds, denoting a radical in which a carbon atom is directly joined to only one other carbon atom. c Denoting a compound containing such a radical.
—noun plural ·ries
1. That which is first in rank, dignity, or importance, as a primary planet in distinction from a satellite.
2. A primary meeting or balloting of the voters belonging to one political party in an election district to nominate candidates.
3. Ornithol. One of the large flight feathers of the pinion or hand bones of a bird's wings. See synonyms under FIRST, PRIMEVAL.
—direct primary election A primary election in which candidates for office are nominated directly by the voters and not by a convention or by a body of delegates. [<L primarius <primus first]