SG Heritage Dictionary

Word of the Day: Catachrestical

Prime [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. First in order of time; original; as prime fathers; prime creation.

2. In this sense, the use of the word is nearly superseded by primitive, except in the phrase, prime cost.

3. First in rank, degree or dignity; as prime minister.

4. First in excellence; as prime wheat; cloth of a prime quality. Humility and resignation are prime virtues.

5. Early; blooming.

6. His starry helm unbuckl'd, showed him prime

7. In manhood, where youth ended.

8. First in value or importance.

9. PRIME number, in arithmetic, a number which is divisible only by unity, as 5.7.ll.

10. PRIME figure, in geometry, a figure which cannot be divided into any other figure more simple than itself, as a triangle, a pyramid, etc.

Prime [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. The first opening of day; the dawn; the morning.

2. Early and late it rung, at evening and at prime

3. The sweet hour of prime

4. The beginning; the early days.

5. In the very prime of the world.

6. The spring of the year.

7. Hope waits upon the flower prime

8. The spring of life; youth; hence, full health, strength or beauty.

9. That crop the golden prime of this sweet prince.

10. The prime of youth.

11. The best part.

12. Give him always of the prime

13. The utmost perfection.

14. The plants--would have been all in prime

15. In the Romish church, the first canonical hour, succeeding to lauds.

16. In fencing, the first of the chief guards.

17. In chimistry, primes are numbers employed, in conformity with the doctrine of definite proportions, to express the ratios in which bodies enter into combination. Primes duly arranged in a table, constitute a scale of chimical equivalents. They also express the ratios of the weights of atoms, according to the atomic theory.

18. PRIME of the moon, the new moon, when it first appears after the change.

19. vertical, the vertical circle which passes through the poles of the meridian, or the east and west points of the horizon. Dials projected on the plane of this circle, are called prime vertical or north and south dials.

Prime [Verb intransitive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

To serve for the charge of a gun.

Prime [Verb transitive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. To put powder in the pan of a musket or other fire-arm; or to lay a train of powder for communicating fire to a charge.

2. To lay on the first color in painting.

Prime [#] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Donne (#) (pl. ) of Prima donna

Prime [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. First in order of time; original; primeval; primitive; primary.

2. First in rank, degree, dignity, authority, or importance; as, prime minister.

3. First in excellence; of highest quality; as, prime wheat; a prime quality of cloth.

4. Early; blooming; being in the first stage.

5. Lecherous; lustful; lewd.

6. Marked or distinguished by a mark (') called a prime mark.

7. The morning; specifically (R. C. Ch.), the first canonical hour, succeeding to lauds.

8. The first of the chief guards.

9. Any number expressing the combining weight or equivalent of any particular element; -- so called because these numbers were respectively reduced to their lowest relative terms on the fixed standard of hydrogen as 1.

10. A prime number. See under Prime, a.

11. An inch, as composed of twelve seconds in the duodecimal system; -- denoted by [']. See 2d Inch, n., 1.

12. To apply priming to, as a musket or a cannon; to apply a primer to, as a metallic cartridge.

13. To lay the first color, coating, or preparation upon (a surface), as in painting; as, to prime a canvas, a wall.

14. To prepare; to make ready; to instruct beforehand; to post; to coach; as, to prime a witness; the boys are primed for mischief.

15. To trim or prune, as trees.

16. To mark with a prime mark.

Prime [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. The first part; the earliest stage; the beginning or opening, as of the day, the year, etc.; hence, the dawn; the spring.

2. The spring of life; youth; hence, full health, strength, or beauty; perfection.

3. That which is first in quantity; the most excellent portion; the best part.

Prime [Verb intransitive] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. To be renewed, or as at first.

2. To serve as priming for the charge of a gun.

3. To work so that foaming occurs from too violent ebullition, which causes water to become mixed with, and be carried along with, the steam that is formed; -- said of a steam boiler.

Primed [Participle passive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Having powder in the pan; having the first color in painting.

Primed [Imperfect tense and past participle] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Prime

Primely [Adverb] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. At first; originally; primarily.

2. Most excellently.

Primely [Adverb] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. At first; primarily.

2. In a prime manner; excellently.

Primeness [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. The state of being first.

2. Supreme excellence. [Little used in either sense.]

Primeness [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. The quality or state of being first.

2. The quality or state of being prime, or excellent.

Primer [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

First; original. [Not in use.]

Primer [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. A small prayer book for church service, or an office of the virgin Mary.

2. A small elementary book for teaching children to read.

Primer [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

First; original; primary.

Primer [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. One who, or that which, primes

2. an instrument or device for priming; esp., a cap, tube, or water containing percussion powder or other compound for igniting a charge of gunpowder.

3. Originally, a small prayer book for church service, containing the little office of the Virgin Mary; also, a work of elementary religious instruction.

4. A small elementary book for teaching children to read; a reading or spelling book for a beginner.

5. A kind of type, of which there are two species; one, called long primer, intermediate in size between bourgeois and small pica [see Long primer]; the other, called great primer, larger than pica.

Primer-fine [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

In England, a fine due to the king on the writ or commencement of a suit by fine.

Primer-seizin [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

In feudal law, the right of the king, when a tenant in capite died seized of a knight's fee, to receive of the heir, if of full age, one year's profits of the land if in possession, and half a year's profits if the land was in reversions expectant on an estate for life; abolished by 12 Car.2.

Primero [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

A game at cards.

Primero [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

A game at cards, now unknown.

Primerole [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

See Primrose.

Primeval [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Original; primitive; as the primeval innocence of man; primeval day.

Primeval [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Belonging to the first ages; pristine; original; primitive; primary; as, the primeval innocence of man.

Primevally [Adverb] Webster's Dictionary 1913

In a primeval manner; in or from the earliest times; originally.

Primevous [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Primeval.

Primevous [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Primeval.

Number Roget’s Thesaurus §84

N. number, symbol, numeral, figure, cipher, digit, # integer, counter, round number, formula, function, series, sum, difference, complement, subtrahend, product, multiplicand, multiplier, multiplicator, coefficient, multiple, dividend, divisor, factor, quotient, submultiple, fraction, rational number, surd, irrational number, transcendental number, mixed number, complex number, complex conjugate, numerator, denominator, decimal, circulating decimal, repetend, common measure, aliquot part, prime number, prime, relative prime, prime factor, prime pair, reciprocal, totient, binary number, octal number, hexadecimal number, permutation, combination, variation, election, ratio, proportion, comparison, progression, arithmetical progression, geometrical progression, harmonical progression, percentage, permilage, figurate numbers, pyramidal numbers, polygonal numbers, power, root, exponent, index, logarithm, antilogarithm, modulus, base, differential, integral, fluxion, fluent

Adj. numeral, complementary, divisible, aliquot, reciprocal, prime, relatively prime, fractional, decimal, figurate, incommensurable, proportional, exponential, logarithmic, logometric, differential, fluxional, integral, totitive, positive, negative, rational, irrational, surd, radical, real, complex, imaginary, finite, infinite, impossible

Adv. numerically, modulo

Oldness Roget’s Thesaurus §124

N. oldness, age, antiquity, cobwebs of antiquity, maturity, decline, decay, senility, seniority, eldership, primogeniture, archaism, thing of the past, relic of the past, megatherium, sanskrit, tradition, prescription, custom, immemorial usage, common law

V. be old, have had its day, have seen its day, become old, age, fade, senesce

Adj. old, ancient, antique, of long standing, time-honored, venerable, elder, eldest, firstborn, prime, primitive, primeval, primigenous, paleolontological, paleontologic, paleoanthropological, paleoanthropic, paleolithic, primordial, primordinate, aboriginal, diluvian, antediluvian, protohistoric, prehistoric, antebellum, colonial, precolumbian, patriarchal, preadamite, paleocrystic, fossil, paleozoolical, paleozoic, preglacial, antemundane, archaic, classic, medieval, pre-raphaelite, ancestral, black-letter, immemorial, traditional, prescriptive, customary, whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary, inveterate, rooted, antiquated, of other times, rococo, of the old school, after-age, obsolete, out of date, out of fashion, out of it, stale, old-fashioned, behind the age, old-world, exploded, gone out, gone by, passe, run out, senile, time worn, crumbling, secondhand, old as the hills, old as methuselah, old as adam, old as history, archeozoic, proterozoic, paleozoic, mesozoic, cenozoic, precambrian, cambrian, ordovician, silurian, devonian, mississippian, pennsylvanian, permian, triassic, jurassic, cretaceous, tertiary, paleogene, neocene, quaternary, paleocene, eocene, oligocene, miocene, pliocene, pleistocene, recent

Adv. since the world was made, since the year one, since the days of methuselah

Phr. vetera extollimus recentium incuriosi

Morning Roget’s Thesaurus §125

N. morning, morn, forenoon, a, m, prime, dawn, daybreak, dayspring, foreday, sunup, peep of day, break of day, aurora, first blush of the morning, first flush of the morning, prime of the morning, twilight, crepuscule, sunrise, cockcrow, cockcrowing, the small hours, the wee hours of the morning, spring, vernal equinox, first point of aries, noon, midday, noonday, noontide, meridian, prime, nooning, noontime, summer, midsummer

Adj. matin, matutinal, vernal

Adv. at sunrise, with the sun, with the lark, "when the morning dawns"

Phr. "at shut of evening flowers", entre chien et loup, "flames in the forehead of the morning sky", "the breezy call of incense-breathing morn"

Earliness Roget’s Thesaurus §132

N. {ant. 133} earliness, morning, punctuality, promptitude, haste, suddenness, prematurity, precocity, precipitation, anticipation, a stitch in time

V. be early, be beforehand, keep time, take time by the forelock, anticipate, forestall, have the start, gain the start, steal a march upon, gain time, draw on futurity, bespeak, secure, engage, preengage, accelerate, expedite, make haste

Adj. early, prime, forward, prompt, summary, premature, precipitate, precocious, prevenient, anticipatory, rath, sudden, unexpected, near, near at hand, immediate

Adv. early, soon, anon, betimes, rath, eft, eftsoons, ere long, before long, shortly, beforehand, prematurely, precipitately, too soon, before its time, before one's time, in anticipation, unexpectedly, suddenly, before one can say "jack robinson", at short notice, extempore, on the spur of the moment, on the spur of the occasion, at once, on the spot, on the instant, at sight, offhand, out of hand, a' vue d'oeil, straight, straightway, straightforth, forthwith, incontinently, summarily, immediately, briefly, shortly, quickly, speedily, apace, before the ink is dry, almost immediately, presently at the first opportunity, in no long time, by and by, in a while, directly

Phr. no sooner said than done, immediately, if not sooner, tout vient a temps pour qui sait attendre

Teaching Roget’s Thesaurus §537

N. teaching, instruction, edification, education, tuition, tutorage, tutelage, direction, guidance, opsimathy, qualification, preparation, training, schooling, discipline, excitation, drill, practice, book exercise, persuasion, proselytism, propagandism, propaganda, indoctrination, inculcation, inoculation, advise, explanation, lesson, lecture, sermon, apologue, parable, discourse, prolection, preachment, chalk talk, chautauqua, exercise, task, curriculum, course, course of study, grammar, three r's, initiation, a, b, c, &c (beginning) 66, elementary education, primary education, secondary education, technical education, college education, collegiate education, military education, university education, liberal education, classical education, religious education, denominational education, moral education, secular education, propaedeutics, moral tuition, gymnastics, calisthenics, physical drill, physical education, sloyd, phonics, rote, rote memorization, brute memory, cooperative learning, montessori method, ungraded classes, test, examination, exam, final exam, mid-term exam grade, score, marks, a, b, c, d, e, f, gentleman's c, pass, fail, incomplete, homework, take-home lesson, exercise for the student, theme, project

V. teach, instruct, educate, edify, school, tutor, cram, prime, coach, enlighten, inculcate, indoctrinate, inoculate, infuse, instill, infix, ingraft, infiltrate, imbue, impregnate, implant, graft, sow the seeds of, disseminate, given an idea of, put up to, put in the way of, set right, sharpen the wits, enlarge the mind, give new ideas, open the eyes, bring forward, "teach the young idea how to shoot", improve, expound, lecture, read a lesson, give a lesson, give a lecture, give a sermon, give a discourse, incept, hold forth, preach, sermonize, moralize, point a moral, train, discipline, bring up, bring up to, form, ground, prepare, qualify, drill, exercise, practice, habituate, familiarize with, nurture, drynurse, breed, rear, take in hand, break, break in, tame, preinstruct, initiate, inure, put to nurse, send to school, direct, guide, direct attention to, impress upon the mind, impress upon the memory, beat into, beat into the head, convince, book, workbook, exercise book, preach to the wise, teach one's grandmother to suck eggs, teach granny to suck eggs, preach to the converted

Adj. teaching, taught, educational, scholastic, academic, doctrinal, disciplinal, instructive, instructional, didactic, propaedeutic, propaedeutical

Phr. the schoolmaster abroad, a bovi majori disscit arare minor, adeo in teneris consuecere multum est, docendo discimus, quaenocent docent, qui docet discit, "sermons in stones and good in everything"

Importance Roget’s Thesaurus §642

N. importance, consequence, moment, prominence, consideration, mark, materialness, import, significance, concern, emphasis, interest, greatness, superiority, notability, weight, value, usefulness, gravity, seriousness, solemnity, no joke, no laughing matter, pressure, urgency, stress, matter of life and death, memorabilia, notabilia, great doings, red-letter day, great thing, great point, main chance, "the be all and the end all", cardinal point, substance, gist, sum and substance, gravamen, head and front, important part, principal part, prominent part, essential part, half the battle, sine qua non, breath of one's nostrils, cream, salt, core, kernel, heart, nucleus, keynote, keystone, corner stone, trump card, salient points, top sawyer, first fiddle, prima donna, chief, triton among the minnows, "it"

V. be important, be somebody, be something, import, signify, matter, boot, be an object, carry weight, make a figure, be in the ascendant, come to the front, lead the way, take the lead, play first fiddle, throw all else into the shade, lie at the root of, deserve notice, merit notice, be worthy of notice, be worthy of regard, be worthy of consideration, attach importance to, ascribe importance to, give importance to, value, care for, set store upon, set store by, mark, mark with a white stone, underline, write in italics, put in italics, print in italics, print in capitals, print in large letters, put in large type, put in letters, of gold, accentuate, emphasize, lay stress on, make a fuss about, make a fuss over, make a stir about, make a piece of work about, make much ado about, make much ado of, make much of

Adj. important, of importance, momentous, material, to the point, not to be overlooked, not to be despised, not to be sneezed at, egregious, weighty, of note, notable, prominent, salient, signal, memorable, remarkable, unforgettable, worthy of remark, worthy of notice, never to be forgotten, stirring, eventful, grave, serious, earnest, noble, grand, solemn, impressive, commanding, imposing, urgent, pressing, critical, instant, paramount, essential, vital, all-absorbing, radical, cardinal, chief, main, prime, primary, principal, leading, capital, foremost, overruling, of vital &c. importance, in the front rank, first-rate, superior, considerable, marked, rare, significant, telling, trenchant, emphatic, pregnant, tanti

Adv. materially, in the main, above all, κατ’ ἐξοχήν, par excellence, to crown all, to beat all

Phr. expende hannibalem, [Lat] [Juvenal]

Goodness Roget’s Thesaurus §648

N. goodness, excellence, merit, virtue, value, worth, price, super-excellence, supereminence, superiority, perfection, coup de maitre, masterpiece, chef d'ouvre, prime, flower, cream, elite, pick, a1, nonesuch, nonpareil, creme de la creme, flower of the flock, cock of the roost, salt of the earth, champion, prodigy, tidbit, gem, gem of the first water, bijou, precious stone, jewel, pearl, diamond, ruby, brilliant, treasure, good thing, rara avis, one in a thousand, beneficence, good man

V. be beneficial, produce good, do good, profit, benefit, confer a benefit, be the making of, do a world of good, make a man of, produce a good effect, do a good turn, confer an obligation, improve, do no harm, break no bones, be good, excel, transcend, bear away the bell, stand the proof, stand the test, pass muster, pass an examination, challenge comparison, vie, emulate, rival

Adj. harmless, hurtless, unobnoxious, innocuous, innocent, inoffensive, beneficial, valuable, of value, serviceable, advantageous, edifying, profitable, salutary, favorable, propitious, fair, good, good as gold, excellent, better, superior, above par, nice, fine, genuine, best, choice, select, picked, elect, recherche, rare, priceless, unparagoned, unparalleled, superlatively, good, bully*, crackajack*, giltedged, superfine, superexcellent, of the first water, first-rate, first-class, high- wrought, exquisite, very best, crack, prime, tiptop, capital, cardinal, standard, inimitable, admirable, estimable, praiseworthy, pleasing, couleur de rose, precious, of great price, costly, worth its weight in gold, worth a jew's eye, priceless, invaluable, inestimable, precious as the apple of the eye, tolerable, up to the mark, unexceptionable, unobjectionable, satisfactory, tidy, in good condition, in fair condition, fresh, sound

Adv. beneficially, well

Phr. "jewels five words long", "long may such goodness live!", "the luxury of doing good"

Preparation Roget’s Thesaurus §673

N. preparation, providing, provision, providence, anticipation, precaution, preconcertation, predisposition, forecast, rehearsal, note of preparation, arrangement, clearance, adjustment, tuning, equipment, outfit, accouterment, armament, array, ripening, maturation, evolution, elaboration, concoction, digestion, gestation, batching, incubation, sitting, groundwork, first stone, cradle, stepping-stone, foundation, scaffold, scaffolding, echafaudage, training, inurement, novitiate, cooking, cookery, brewing, culinary art, tilling, plowing, sowing, semination, cultivation, preparedness, readiness, ripeness, mellowness, maturity, un impromptu fait a loisir, preparer, trainer, pioneer, trailblazer, avant- courrier, avant-coureur, voortrekker, sappers and miners, pavior, navvy, packer, stevedore, warming pan

V. prepare, get ready, make ready, make preparations, settle preliminaries, get up, sound the note of preparation, set in order, put in order, forecast prepare the ground, plow the ground, dress the ground, till the soil, cultivate the soil, predispose, sow the seed, lay a train, dig a mine, lay the groundwork, fix the groundwork, lay the basis, fix the basis, lay the foundations, fix the foundations, dig the foundations, erect the scaffolding, lay the first stone, roughhew, cut out work, block out, hammer out, lick into shape, elaborate, mature, ripen, mellow, season, bring to maturity, nurture, hatch, cook, brew, temper, anneal, smelt, barbecue, infumate|, maturate, equip, arm, man, fit-out, fit up, furnish, rig, dress, garnish, betrim, accouter, array, fettle, fledge, dress up, furbish up, brush up, vamp up, refurbish, sharpen one's tools, trim one's foils, set, prime, attune, whet the knife, whet the sword, wind up, screw up, adjust, put in trim, put in train, put in gear, put in working order, put in tune, put in a groove for, put in harness, pack, train, inure, breed, prepare &c. for, rehearse, make provision for, take steps, take measures, take precautions, provide, provide against, beat up for recruits, open the door to, set one's house in order, make all snug, clear the decks, clear for action, close one's ranks, shuffle the cards, prepare oneself, serve an apprenticeship, lay oneself out for, get into harness, gird up one's loins, buckle on one's armor, reculer pour mieux sauter, prime and load, shoulder arms, get the steam up, put the horses to, guard against, make sure against, forearm, make sure, prepare for the evil day, have a rod in pickle, provide against a rainy day, feather one's nest, lay in provisions, make investments, keep on foot, be prepared, be ready, hold oneself in readiness, keep one's powder dry, lie in wait for, anticipate, principiis obstare, veniente occurrere morbo

Adj. preparing, in preparation, in course of preparation, in agitation, in embryo, in hand, in train, afoot, afloat, on foot, on the stocks, on the anvil, under consideration, brewing, batching, forthcoming, brooding, in store for, in reserve, precautionary, provident, preparative, preparatory, provisional, inchoate, under revision, preliminary, prepared, in readiness, ready, ready to one's band, ready made, ready cut and dried, made to one's hand, handy, on the table, in gear, in working order, in working gear, snug, in practice, ripe, mature, mellow, pukka, practiced, labored, elaborate, highly-wrought, smelling of the lamp, worked up, in full feather, in best bib and tucker, in harness, at harness, in the saddle, in arms, in battle array, in war paint, up in arms, armed at all points, armed to the teeth, armed cap a pie, sword in hand, booted and spurred, in utrumque paratus, semper paratus, on the alert, at one's post

Adv. in preparation, in anticipation of, against, for, abroach

Phr. a bove majori discit arare minor, "looking before and after", si vis pacem para bellum