primer
/ˈpɹɪm.əɹ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.50 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A prayer or devotional book intended for laity, initially an abridgment of the breviary and manual including the hours of the Virgin Mary, 15 gradual and 7 penitential psalms, the litany, the placebo and dirige forming the office of the dead, and the commendations.
noun
Any of various similar works issued in England for private prayer in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer.
noun
An introductory text on any subject, particularly basic concepts.
noun
Any substance or device, such as priming wire or blasting cap, used to ignite gunpowder or other explosive.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Four-year-old Elizabeth Finkle-McGraw would receive the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer from her grandfather. Fiona Hackworth would be getting a copy of the Illustrated Primer too, for this had been John Percival Hackworth's crime: He had programmed the matter compiler to place the cockleburs on the outside of Elizabeth's book."
- "[...] The two assets of the book are clear explanation, and a multitude of extremely helpful diagrams, some in two colours, and cutaway photographs; these clearly unravel a difficult subject for the layman, as well as the student engineman for whom the primer is chiefly designed."
- "The percussion primer, known as the “ 110-grain percussion primer,” contains an igniting charge of 95 grains of black powder in addition to the essential elements of a percussion primer."
- "Therefore, the shotgun primer is quite self- contained. It consists of a separate metal cup called a battery cup that contains the primer itself. That's why it is considered a two-piece primer."
- "Take care when handling primers, especially ensure that your fingers are free of oil or dirt. Oil can affect the detonating properties of the primer pellet, and can be the cause of misfires if too much oil gets into the primer."
- "The undermakeup (primer) should be allowed to dry-set for 30 seconds. Apply foundation over the primer with a sponge using light, careful strokes to blend. Undermakeups come in cream form, sponge-on wands, or sponge-on cream, and as a lotion."
Etymology
From Middle English primer, primere, from Medieval Latin primarius and primarium (“prayer book”) possibly via Anglo-Norman primer (“prayer book”), from prima (“prime the liturgical hour and office”) + -arius and -arium (suffix forming related objects). Its use for schoolbooks derived from the late medieval and early modern use of such prayer books to teach reading.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: primer, primarius, -
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpɹɪm.əɹ/
- British English: /ˈpɹaɪ.mə/
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
double great primer
great primer
long primer
primer book
primer cord
primer school
primer-state
two-line great primer