primary

adj. 主要的；初级的；基本的

n. 原色；最主要者

中文词源

primary 最早的，最主要的

来自prime,第一的，最初的，首要的，-ary,形容词后缀。

primary (adj.): early 15c., "of the first order," from Latin primarius "of the first rank, chief, principal, excellent," from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)). Meaning "first in order" is from 1802. Primary color is first recorded 1610s (at first the seven of the spectrum, later the three from which others can be made); primary school is 1802, from French école primaire.
The Paris journals ... are full of a plan, brought forward by Fourcroy, for the establishment of primary schools, which is not interesting to an English reader. [London "Times," April 27, 1802]
Related: Primarily.
primary (n.): 1861, American English, short for primary election (1792, with reference to France; in a U.S. context from 1835); earlier primary caucus (1821).

1、prim- + -ary.2、含义：of the first order, of the first rank, chief, principal.

1. It is nearly always women who are the primary care givers.: 从事初级保健护理工作的几乎都是女性。

2. His misunderstanding of language was the primary cause of his other problems.: 他对语言的误解是引起其他问题的主要原因。

3. Britain did not introduce compulsory primary education until 1880.: 直到1880年，英国才开始实行初等义务教育。

4. He won the election because the Democrats self-destructed in their primary.: 民主党在初选中自毁长城，所以才让他赢得了选举。

5. Mrs Steele was head of Didcot's C of E primary school.: 斯蒂尔夫人曾是英国迪德科特圣公会小学的校长。