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

Primordial utricle (Bot.), the interior lining of a young vegetable cell.

Pri*mor"di*al, n. A first principle or element.

Pri*mor"di*al*ism (?), n. Devotion to, or persistence in, conditions of the primordial state. H. Spencer.

Pri*mor"di*al*ly, adv. At the beginning; under the first order of things; originally.

Pri*mor"di*an (?), n. [L. primordius first of all, fr. primordium.] (Bot.) A name given to several kinds of plums; as, red primordian, amber primordian, etc.

Pri*mor"di*ate (?), a. Primordial. [R.] Boyle.

Primp (?), v. i. & t. [Cf. Prim, a.] To be formal or affected in dress or manners; -- often with up. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Halliwell.

Prim"rose` (?), n. [OE. primerole, F. primerole, a derivative fr. LL. primula, from L. primus first. See Prime, a.] (Bot.) (a) An early flowering plant of the genus Primula (P. vulgaris) closely allied to the cowslip. There are several varieties, as the white-, the red-, the yellow-flowered, etc. Formerly called also primerole, primerolles. (b) Any plant of the genus Primula.

Evening primrose, an erect biennial herb (Enothera biennis), with yellow vespertine flowers, common in the United States. The name is sometimes extended to other species of the same genus. -- Primrose peerless, the two-flowered Narcissus (N. biflorus). [Obs.]

Prim"rose`, a. Of or pertaining to the primrose; of the color of a primrose; -- hence, flowery; gay. "The primrose path of dalliance." Shak.

||Prim"u*la (?), n. [LL. See Primrose.] (Bot.) The genus of plants ||including the primrose (Primula vera).

Prim`u*la"ceous (?), a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to an order of herbaceous plants (PrimulaceÊ), of which the primrose is the type, and the pimpernel, the cyclamen, and the water violet are other examples.

||Pri"mum mob"i*le (?). [L., first cause of motion.] (Astron.) In the ||Ptolemaic system, the outermost of the revolving concentric spheres ||constituting the universe, the motion of which was supposed to carry ||with it all the inclosed spheres with their planets in a daily ||revolution from east to west. See Crystalline heavens, under ||Crystalline.

The motions of the greatest persons in a government ought to be, as the motions of the planets, under primum mobile.

Bacon.

||Pri"mus (?), n. [L., the first.] One of the bishops of the Episcopal ||Church of Scotland, who presides at the meetings of the bishops, and ||has certain privileges but no metropolitan authority. Internat. Cyc.

Prim"y (?), a. [From Prime, a.] Being in its prime. [Obs.] "The youth of primy nature." Shak.

Prince (?), n. [F., from L. princeps, -cipis, the first, chief; primus first + capere to take. See Prime, a., and Capacious.] 1. The one of highest rank; one holding the highest place and authority; a sovereign; a monarch; - - originally applied to either sex, but now rarely applied to a female. Wyclif (Rev. i. 5).

Go, Michael, of celestial armies prince.

Milton.

Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her sex.

Camden.

2. The son of a king or emperor, or the issue of a royal family; as, princes of the blood. Shak.

3. A title belonging to persons of high rank, differing in different countries. In England it belongs to dukes, marquises, and earls, but is given to members of the royal family only. In Italy a prince is inferior to a duke as a member of a particular order of nobility; in Spain he is always one of the royal family.

4. The chief of any body of men; one at the head of a class or profession; one who is preÎminent; as, a merchant prince; a prince of players. "The prince of learning." Peacham.

Prince-Albert coat, a long double-breasted frock coat for men. -- Prince of the blood, Prince consort, Prince of darkness. See under Blood, Consort, and Darkness. -- Prince of Wales, the oldest son of the English sovereign. -- Prince's feather (Bot.), a name given to two annual herbs (Amarantus caudatus and Polygonum orientale), with apetalous reddish flowers arranged in long recurved panicled spikes. -- Prince's metal, Prince Rupert's metal. See under Metal. Prince's pine. (Bot.) See Pipsissewa.

Prince, v. i. To play the prince. [R.] Shak.