Definition of primary

• a. - First in order of time or development or in intention; primitive; fundamental; original.
• a. - First in order, as being preparatory to something higher; as, primary assemblies; primary schools.
• a. - First in dignity or importance; chief; principal; as, primary planets; a matter of primary importance.
• a. - Earliest formed; fundamental.
• a. - Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement.
• n. - That which stands first in order, rank, or importance; a chief matter.
• n. - A primary meeting; a caucus.
• n. - One of the large feathers on the distal joint of a bird's wing. See Plumage, and Illust. of Bird.
• n. - A primary planet; the brighter component of a double star. See under Planet.