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PRIMORDIAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or original stage or state
Example:
primordial forms of life
Synonyms:
aboriginal; primaeval; primal; primeval; primordial
Classified under:
Similar:
early (at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time)
Context examples:
The empty space plays a primordial role in Einstein's equations as it operates in a quantity known as a "cosmological constant", and the resulting universe model depends on it.
(There May Be No Dark Matter, Dark Energy in Universe, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
A stranger could not hear this note, and to such a stranger the growling of White Fang was an exhibition of primordial savagery, nerve-racking and blood-curdling.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
During their primordial migration out of Africa, ancestors of present-day humans are thought to have interbred with Neanderthals, whose brain characteristics can be inferred from their fossilized skulls.
(“Residual echo” of ancient humans in scans may hold clues to mental disorders, National Institutes of Health)
Human EG cells are derived from the primordial germ cells, which occurs in a specific part of the embryo/fetus called the gonadal ridge, and which normally develop into mature gametes (eggs and sperm).
(EG Cell Line, NCI Thesaurus)
It was previously not known if brown dwarfs could form from such primordial gas, and the discovery points the way to a larger undiscovered population of extremely pure brown dwarfs from our Galaxy's ancient past.
(Astronomers Identify Purest, Most Massive Brown Dwarf, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
By probing what’s floating around in the foreground cluster, scientists were able to test one theory that dark matter might be made up mostly of a huge number of primordial black holes formed in the birth of the universe with masses tens of times larger than the Sun.
(Hubble Uncovers the Farthest Star Ever Seen, NASA)
We are now able to demonstrate, for the first time, that primordial galaxies do have enough food in their environments to sustain both the growth of supermassive black holes and vigorous star formation, says Emanuele Paolo Farina, of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, who led the research.
(ESO Observations Reveal Black Holes' Breakfast at the Cosmic Dawn, ESO)
Cloned cancer gene for Familial gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), KIT proto-oncogene encodes a putative transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase for stem cell factor and is critical in the development of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells, migrating embryonic melanoblasts, and primordial germ cells.
(Oncogene KIT, NCI Thesaurus)
Buck stood and looked on, the successful champion, the dominant primordial beast who had made his kill and found it good.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
These atmospheres consist mostly of the primordial, lighter-weight gases hydrogen and helium, the most plentiful elements in the universe.
(Hubble Uncovers a ‘Heavy Metal’ Exoplanet Shaped Like a Football, NASA)
