Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRI'MA-RY, a. [L. primarius. See Prime.]

1. First in order of time; original; as, the church of Christ in its primary institution. – Pearson. These I call original or primary qualities of body. – Locke.
2. First in dignity, or importance; chief; principal. Our ancestors considered the education of youth of primary importance.
3. Elemental; intended to teach youth the first rudiments; as, primary schools.
4. Radical; original; as, the primary sense of a word.
5. A stiff quill in the last joint of a bird's wing. Primary planets, are those which revolve about the sun, in distinction from the secondary planets, which revolve about the primary. Primary qualities of bodies, are such as are original and inseparable from them.