primary

Meanings

Adjective

  • first or earliest in a group or series.
  • main; principal; chief; placed ahead of others.
  • Earliest formed; fundamental.
  • Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement.
  • Relating to the place where a disorder or disease started to occur.
  • Relating to day-to-day care provided by health professionals such as nurses, general practitioners, dentists etc.

Noun

Verb

  • 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.
  • To take part in a primary election.

Origin

  • 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.

Modern English dictionary

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