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Overlapping; contorted; convolute; -- applied primarily, in botany, to two opposite leaves, each of which has one edge overlapping the nearest edge of the other, and secondarily to a circle of several leaves or petals which thus overlap.

That from which anything primarily proceeds; the fountain; the spring; the cause; the occasion.

In the original time, or in an original manner; primarily; from the beginning or origin; not by derivation, or imitation. God is originally holy in himself. Bp. Pearson.

ve points to inward feeling, and suppose alienated affection; when we ask forgiveness, we primarily seek the removal of anger. Pardon looks more to outward things or consequences, and is often applied to trifling matters, as when we beg pardon for interrupting a man, or for jostling him in a crowd. The civil magistrate…

ion, as where pinnacles flank a gable or spire, and the like. Pinnacles may be considered primarily as added weight, where it is necessary to resist the thrust of an arch, etc. Some renowned metropolis With glistering spires and pinnacles around. Milton.

One primarily devoted to his own advancement in public office, or to the success of a political party; -- used in a depreciatory sense; one addicted or attached to politics as managed by parties (see Politics, 2); a schemer; an intriguer; as, a mere politician. Like a scurvy politician, seem To see the things thou dost…

Primarily, liberty of converse; intercourse; hence, a certificate, given after compliance with quarantine regulations, permitting a ship to land passengers and crew; -- a term used particularly in the south of Europe.

At first; primarily. [Obs.] South.

Primarily; not derivatively.

In a principal manner; primarily; above all; chiefly; mainly.

The act of falling down, or of bowing in humility or adoration; primarily, the act of falling on the face, but usually applied to kneeling or bowing in reverence and worship. A greater prostration of reason than of body. Shak.

They were called Quakers, originally, in derision. See Friend, n., 4. Fox's teaching was primarily a preaching of repentance . . . The trembling among the listening crowd caused or confirmed the name of Quakers given to the body; men and women sometimes fell down and lay struggling as if for life. Encyc. Brit.…

or holy; relating to temporal as distinguished from eternal interests; not immediately or primarily respecting the soul, but the body; worldly. New foes arise, Threatening to bind our souls with secular chains. Milton.

- Segmental organs. (a) (Anat.) The embryonic excretory organs of vertebrates, consisting primarily of the segmental tubes and segmental ducts. (b) (Zoöl.) The tubular excretory organs, a pair of which often occur in each of several segments in annelids. They serve as renal organs, and often, also, as oviducts and sper…

An adjective suffix having primarily the sense of like or same, and indicating a considerable degree of the thing or quality denoted in the first part of the compound; as in mettlesome, full of mettle or spirit; gladsome, full of gladness; winsome, blithesome, etc.

Primarily, a square; hence, a square body of troops; a body of troops drawn up in a square. [R.] Those half-rounding quards Just met, and, closing, stood in squadron joined. Milton.

One who is bound with and for another who is primarily liable, and who is called the principal; one who engages to answer for another's appearance in court, or for his payment of a debt, or for performance of some act; a bondsman; a bail. He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it. Prov. xi. 15.…

(notably nux vomica, strychnine, and brucine) which, either as a remedy or a poison, acts primarily on the spinal cord, and which, when taken in comparatively large quantity, produces tetanic spasms or convulsions.

The preposition to primarily indicates approach and arrival, motion made in the direction of a place or thing and attaining it, access; and also, motion or tendency without arrival; movement toward; -- opposed to Ant: from. "To Canterbury they wend." Chaucer. Stay with us, go not to Wittenberg. Shak. So to the sylvan l…

A semifluid or fluid oleoresin, primarily the exudation of the terebinth, or turpentine, tree (Pistacia Terebinthus), a native of the Mediterranean region. It is also obtained from many coniferous trees, especially species of pine, larch, and fir.