Definition of: primeval

(prī·mē′vəl) adjective
Belonging to the first ages; primitive in time; primary. [<L primaevus youthful <primus first + aevum age]
—pri·me′val·ly adverb Synonyms: aboriginal, ancient, autochthonic, immemorial, indigenous, native, old, original, primal, primary, prime, primitive, primordial, pristine. Aboriginal signifies pertaining to the earliest known inhabitants of a country in the widest sense, including not merely human beings, but animals and plants. Primeval signifies strictly belonging to the first ages, earliest in time, but often only the earliest of which man knows or conceives. Prime and primary may signify either first in time, or first in importance; primary has also the sense of elementary or preparatory; we speak of a prime minister, a primary school. Primal is chiefly poetic, in the sense of prime; as, the primal curse. Primordial is first in an order of existence or development; as, a primordial leaf. Primitive frequently signifies having the original characteristics of that which it represents, as well as standing first in time; as, the primitive church, or early characteristics without remoteness in time. Primeval simplicity is the simplicity of the earliest ages; primitive simplicity may be found in retired villages now. Pristine is used almost exclusively in a good sense of that which is original and perhaps ancient; as, pristine purity, innocence, vigor. Immemorial refers solely to time, independently of quality, denoting, in legal phrase, that “whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary.” Compare synonyms for ANCIENT, FIRST, OLD. Antonyms: adventitious, exotic, foreign, fresh, late, modern, new, novel, recent.