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ommunity which permits promiscuous sexual intercourse among its members; -- as in certain primitive tribes or communistic societies. [Written also cenogamy.]

To partake of the Lord's supper; to commune. The primitive Christians communicated every day. Jer. Taylor.

olated from modifying influences that in many respects it is the most ancient monument of primitive Christian rites and ceremonies. But centuries of subjection to Moslem rule have weakened and degraded it.

Haüy to the successive diminution of the layers of molecules, applied to the faces of the primitive form, by which he supposed the secondary forms to be produced.

change of termination, and expressing the desire of doing that which is indicated by the primitive verb.

from a noun, denoting a small or a young object of the same kind with that denoted by the primitive; as, gosling, eaglet, lambkin. Babyisms and dear diminutives. Tennyson.

The theory which maintains that the primitive elements of language are reflex expressions induced by sensory impressions; that is, as stated by Max Müller, the creative faculty gave to each general conception as it thrilled for the first time through the brain a phonetic expression; -- jocosely so called from the analo…

Relating to, or connected with, the two primitive germ layers, the ectoderm and ectoderm; as, the "ectental line" or line of juncture of the two layers in the segmentation of the ovum. C. S. Minot.

The primitive formative juice, from which the tissues, particularly the cellular tissue, are formed.

To give the etymology of; to trace to the root or primitive, as a word. Camden

h of philological science which treats of the history of words, tracing out their origin, primitive significance, and changes of from and meaning.

1. An original form; primitive word; root.

Pertaining to a font, fountain, source, or origin; original; primitive. [R.] From the fontal light of ideas only can a man draw intellectual power. Coleridge.

The primitive cell in certain embryonic forms. Balfour.

One of the masses of generative tissue primitively alike in both sexes, but giving rise to either an ovary or a testis; a generative gland; a germ gland. Wiedersheim.

Primitive religion in which each of several divinities is regarded as independent, and is worshiped without reference to the rest. [R.]

A supposed primitive state of society, in which all the women of a tribe were held in common. H. Spencer. -- Het`a*ris"tic, a.

itic characters, language, etc.; applied esp. to certain ancient inscriptions showing the primitive type of the oldest form of the Arabic, still spoken in Southern Arabia. Brande & C.

capable of being recognized, known, or distinguished. H. Spenser. The Lettish race, not a primitive stock of the Slavi, but a distinct branch, now become incognizable. Tooke.

by putting in those that are strong on both sides. Bacon. Indifferent tissue (Anat.), the primitive, embryonic, undifferentiated tissue, before conversion into connective, muscular, nervous, or other definite tissue.