primeval
pry-MEE-vul
/praɪˈmiː.vəl/
Of or resembling the earliest ages in the history of the world; ancient and raw.
Evokes feelings of primordial, vast time—forests or landscapes that feel unchanged since the birth of the planet.
The story behind the word. Formed from Latin primus ('first') and aevum ('age'). Roman writers used primaevus to mean 'young' or 'in the first stage of life.' In English during the 1600s, the meaning expanded to mean belonging to the earliest ages of planet Earth.
Word relationships
- primordial: Primordial refers to the absolute origin of matter or life (e.g., primordial soup); primeval often describes ancient landscapes or forests.
- ancient: Ancient usually refers to human history (ancient Rome); primeval refers to geologic or evolutionary time.
- modern: Belonging to recent or present time.
Commonly confused with
- pristine: Pristine means pure and clean; primeval means ancient and prehistoric in character.
Collocations
- primeval forest
- primeval urge
- primeval mud
- primeval landscape
Example sentences
- "This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks, stand like Druids of eld." Literature citation
- "Walking into the temperate rainforest felt like stepping back into a primeval era." Nature description
Memory hook
PRIME (first) + EV (EVolution) = earliest age of Earth. Primeval = dawn of time.
When not to use
Do not use for modern things that are simply old (e.g., an 80-year-old wooden house is old, not primeval).
Fun facts
- The Białowieża Forest on the border between Poland and Belarus is frequently cited as Europe's last remaining primeval lowland forest.
Related words
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