Prime

Prime
Prime Prime, n. 1. The first part; the earliest stage; the beginning or opening, as of the day, the year, etc.; hence, the dawn; the spring. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

In the very prime of the world. --Hooker. [1913 Webster]

Hope waits upon the flowery prime. --Waller. [1913 Webster]

2. The spring of life; youth; hence, full health, strength, or beauty; perfection. ``Cut off in their prime.'' --Eustace. ``The prime of youth.'' --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

3. That which is first in quantity; the most excellent portion; the best part. [1913 Webster]

Give him always of the prime. --Swift. [1913 Webster]

4. [F. prime, LL. prima (sc. hora). See {Prime}, a.] The morning; specifically (R. C. Ch.), the first canonical hour, succeeding to lauds. [1913 Webster]

Early and late it rung, at evening and at prime. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]

Note: Originally, prime denoted the first quarter of the artificial day, reckoned from 6 a. m. to 6 p. m. Afterwards, it denoted the end of the first quarter, that is, 9 a. m. Specifically, it denoted the first canonical hour, as now. Chaucer uses it in all these senses, and also in the sense of def. 1, above. [1913 Webster]

They sleep till that it was pryme large. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

5. (Fencing) The first of the chief guards. [1913 Webster]

6. (Chem.) 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. [Obs. or Archaic] [1913 Webster]

7. (Arith.) A prime number. See under {Prime}, a. [1913 Webster]

8. An inch, as composed of twelve seconds in the duodecimal system; -- denoted by [']. See 2d {Inch}, n., 1. [1913 Webster]

{Prime of the moon}, the new moon at its first appearance. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • prime — 1. (pri m ) adj.    Mot ancien qui signifiait premier, et qui n est plus usité seul ; on s en sert encore dans les locutions suivantes. 1°   De prime abord, en premier lieu. •   De prime abord sont par la bonne dame Expédiés tous les péchés menus …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Prime — can refer to: * Prime number, an integer greater than 1 which is only divisible by 1 and itself * Prime (symbol), the ′ mark ** 3′ end and 5′ end ( three prime end , five prime end ) in biochemistry * Prime (liturgy), a liturgical office (service …   Wikipedia

  • Prime — Prime, a. [F., fr. L. primus first, a superl. corresponding to the compar. prior former. See {Prior}, a., {Foremost}, {Former}, and cf. {Prim}, a., {Primary}, {Prince}.] 1. First in order of time; original; primeval; primitive; primary. Prime… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prime — • Article on the office of Prime, now suppressed Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Prime     Prime     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • prime-1 — [ˌpraɪm ˈwʌn] noun [singular] FINANCE a rating given by some credit showing that the risk of non payment of a loan etc is very low. Prime 1 is the best rating, followed by prime 2 and prime 3: • Moody s assigned their top ratings prime 1 and A 1… …   Financial and business terms

  • prime — [prīm] adj. [ME < MFr < L primus, first < OL pri, before < IE base * per , beyond > FAR, FIRST] 1. first in time; original; primitive; primary 2. first in rank or authority; chief [the prime minister] 3. first in importance or… …   English World dictionary

  • PRIME — (Privacy and Identity Management for Europe / Datenschutz und Identitätsmanagement für Europa) ist der Name eines Projektes innerhalb des 6. EU Rahmenprogramms. Der Start des PRIME Projektes fand in Brunnen, Schweiz, vom 8. bis 12. März 2004… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • prime — PRIME. s. f. La premiere des heures Canoniales. Chanter Prime. assister à Prime. Il se dit aussi d une sorte de Jeu aux cartes. Il y a deux sortes de prime. la grand prime. la petite prime. cartes de prime. joüer à la prime. il a perdu son argent …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • prime — 1 n 1: prime rate 2: general contractor prime 2 vt primed, prim·ing: to have priority over a perfected security …   Law dictionary

  • Prime-2 — Prime 1/Prime 2/Prime 3 ► FINANCE a rating (= measurement of how good something is) given to a loan to show how much of a risk there is that the loan will not be paid back. A Prime 1 rating means that the risk is very low. A Prime 2 or Prime 3… …   Financial and business terms

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