primordial

primordial
    adj 1: having existed from the beginning; in an earliest or
           original stage or state; "aboriginal forests"; "primal
           eras before the appearance of life on earth"; "the forest
           primeval"; "primordial matter"; "primordial forms of
           life" [syn: {aboriginal}, {primal}, {primeval},
           {primaeval}, {primordial}]
    

Primordial \Pri*mor"di*al\, n.
   A first principle or element.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Primordial \Pri*mor"di*al\, a. [L. primordialis, from primordium
   the first beginning; primus first + ordiri to begin a web, to
   begin: cf. F. primordial.]
   1. First in order; primary; original; of earliest origin; as,
      primordial condition. "The primordial facts of our
      intelligent nature." --Sir W. Hamilton.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Geol.) Of or pertaining to the lowest beds of the
      Silurian age, corresponding to the Acadian and Potsdam
      periods in American geology. It is called also {Cambrian},
      and by many geologists is separated from the Silurian.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Biol.) Originally or earliest formed in the growth of an
      individual or organ; as, a primordial leaf; a primordial
      cell.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Primordial utricle} (Bot.), the interior lining of a young
      vegetable cell.
      [1913 Webster]
    

40 Moby Thesaurus words for "primordial":
      aboriginal, ancestral, antepatriarchal, atavistic, autochthonous,
      basal, basic, central, crucial, elemental, elementary, embryonic,
      fundamental, generative, genetic, germinal, humanoid, in embryo,
      in ovo, original, patriarchal, preadamite, preglacial, pregnant,
      prehistoric, prehuman, primal, primary, prime, primeval, primitive,
      primogenial, primoprimitive, pristine, protogenic, protohistoric,
      protohuman, radical, rudimentary, seminal