Prime, a. (Math.)
(a) Divisible by no number except itself or
unity; as, 7 is a prime number. (b)
Having no common factor; -- used with to; as, 12 is
prime to 25.
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 forests."
Tennyson.
She was not the prime cause, but I
myself.
Milton.
&fist; In this sense the word is nearly superseded by
primitive, except in the phrase prime cost.
2. First in rank, degree, dignity, authority,
or importance; as, prime minister. "Prime
virtues." Dryden.
3. First in excellence; of highest quality;
as, prime wheat; a prime quality of cloth.
4. Early; blooming; being in the first
stage. [Poetic]
His starry helm, unbuckled, showed him prime
In manhood where youth ended.
Milton.
5. Lecherous; lustful; lewd. [Obs.]
Shak.
6. Marked or distinguished by a mark (′)
called a prime mark.
Prime and ultimate ratio. (Math.). See
Ultimate. -- Prime conductor.
(Elec.) See under Conductor. -- Prime
factor (Arith.), a factor which is a prime
number. -- Prime figure (Geom.), a
figure which can not be divided into any other figure more simple than
itself, as a triangle, a pyramid, etc. -- Prime
meridian (Astron.), the meridian from which
longitude is reckoned, as the meridian of Greenwich or
Washington. -- Prime minister, the
responsible head of a ministry or executive government; applied
particularly to that of England. -- Prime
mover. (Mech.) (a) A natural
agency applied by man to the production of power. Especially: Muscular
force; the weight and motion of fluids, as water and air; heat
obtained by chemical combination, and applied to produce changes in
the volume and pressure of steam, air, or other fluids; and
electricity, obtained by chemical action, and applied to produce
alternation of magnetic force. (b) An engine,
or machine, the object of which is to receive and modify force and
motion as supplied by some natural source, and apply them to drive
other machines; as a water wheel, a water-pressure engine, a steam
engine, a hot-air engine, etc. (c) Fig.: The
original or the most effective force in any undertaking or work; as,
Clarkson was the prime mover in English antislavery
agitation. -- Prime number (Arith.),
a number which is exactly divisible by no number except itself or
unity, as 5, 7, 11. -- Prime vertical
(Astron.), the vertical circle which passes through the
east and west points of the horizon. -- Prime-vertical
dial, a dial in which the shadow is projected on the
plane of the prime vertical. -- Prime-vertical transit
instrument, a transit instrument the telescope of which
revolves in the plane of the prime vertical, -- used for observing the
transit of stars over this circle.
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.
In the very prime of the world.
Hooker.
Hope waits upon the flowery prime.
Waller.
2. The spring of life; youth; hence, full
health, strength, or beauty; perfection. "Cut off in their
prime." Eustace. "The prime of youth."
Dryden.
3. That which is first in quantity; the most
excellent portion; the best part.
Give him always of the prime.
Swift.
4. [F. prime, LL. prima (sc.
hora). See Prime, a.] The
morning; specifically (R. C. Ch.), the first canonical hour,
succeeding to lauds.
Early and late it rung, at evening and at
prime.
Spenser.
&fist; 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.
They sleep till that it was pryme
large.
Chaucer.
5. (Fencing) The first of the chief
guards.
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]
7. (Arith.) A prime number. See under
Prime, a.
8. An inch, as composed of twelve seconds in
the duodecimal system; -- denoted by [′]. See 2d Inch,
n., 1.
Prime of the moon, the new moon at its first
appearance.
Prime, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Primed (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Priming.] [From Prime, a.]
1. To apply priming to, as a musket or a cannon;
to apply a primer to, as a metallic cartridge.
2. To lay the first color, coating, or
preparation upon (a surface), as in painting; as, to prime a
canvas, a wall.
3. To prepare; to make ready; to instruct
beforehand; to post; to coach; as, to prime a witness; the boys
are primed for mischief. [Colloq.] Thackeray.
4. To trim or prune, as trees. [Obs. or
Prov. Eng.]
5. (Math.) To mark with a prime
mark.
To prime a pump, to charge a pump with water,
in order to put it in working condition.
Prime, v. i. 1. To
be renewed, or as at first. [Obs.]
Night's bashful empress, though she often wane,
As oft repeats her darkness, primes again.
Quarles.
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.
Prime, a. (Math.)
(a) Divisible by no number except itself or
unity; as, 7 is a prime number. (b)
Having no common factor; -- used with to; as, 12 is
prime to 25.
