ETYM Latin primitivus, from primus the first: cf. French primitif. Related to Prime.
1. (Anthropology; of societies) Preliterate or tribal or nonindustrial.
2. (Fine arts) Of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style.
3. (Linguistics) Serving as the basis for derived or inflected forms.
4. (Mathematics) Being an algebraic or geometric expression from which another expression is derived.

A person who belongs to an early stage of civilization; SYN. primitive person.

1. In computer graphics, a shape, such as a line, circle, curve, or polygon, that can be drawn, stored, and manipulated as a discrete entity by a graphics program. A primitive is one of the elements from which a large graphic design is created.
2. In programming, a fundamental element in a language that can be used to create larger procedures that do the work a programmer wants to do.