Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A privet.
  • adjective Precise or proper to the point of affectation; excessively decorous.
  • adjective Strait-laced; prudish.
  • adjective Neat and trim.
  • intransitive verb To fix (the face or mouth) in a prim expression.
  • intransitive verb To make prim, as in dress or appearance.
  • intransitive verb To assume a prim expression.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The privet. See Ligustrum.
  • To deck with great nicety; form or dispose with affected preciseness; prink; make prim.
  • To make one's self print or precise.
  • noun The fry of the smelt.
  • Neat; formal; stiffly precise; affectedly nice; demure.
  • noun A neat, pretty girl.
  • noun An abbreviation of primary.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To deck with great nicety; to arrange with affected preciseness; to prink.
  • intransitive verb rare To dress or act smartly.
  • adjective Formal; precise; affectedly neat or nice
  • noun (Bot) The privet.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To make affectedly precise or proper.
  • verb To dress or act smartly.
  • adjective prudish, overly correct in behaviour, straight-laced

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective exaggeratedly proper
  • verb contract one's lips
  • verb assume a prim appearance
  • adjective affectedly dainty or refined
  • verb dress primly

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Short for obsolete primprint, of unknown origin.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Possibly from obsolete prim, formal or demure person, perhaps from Old French prin, first, delicate; see prime.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word prim.

Examples

  • We have 15,000 prims to make the world come alive (a prim is the fundamental building unit in Second Life).

    "Deep in your veins, I will not lie." greygirlbeast 2008

  • Each "big" set is completed by and linked to an invisible prim, which is positioned at the center of the big virtual sphere, and this invisible prim responds to start and stop commands.

    Somebody... Give this woman a sim-wide show Bettina Tizzy 2009

  • Each "big" set is completed by and linked to an invisible prim, which is positioned at the center of the big virtual sphere, and this invisible prim responds to start and stop commands.

    Archive 2009-05-01 Bettina Tizzy 2009

  • A prim is a basic building block that is used to create build anything and everything in the virtual world of Second Life®.

    Gorgeous prim abuse at the FRI Bettina Tizzy 2008

  • A prim is a basic building block that is used to create build anything and everything in the virtual world of Second Life®.

    Archive 2008-06-01 Bettina Tizzy 2008

  • She was what is called prim in her manner, and as delicate as an American.

    Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 55, No. 342, April, 1844 Various

  • She had many times been called prim and old-fashioned, especially at school, by Joan and others when men were talked about, and the glittering life that lay beyond the walls.

    Who Cares? a story of adolescence Cosmo Hamilton 1910

  • "Well, I don't think we're exactly what you'd call prim and proper," chuckled Meg.

    A harum-scarum schoolgirl Angela Brazil 1907

  • It is only what the law terms primâ facie evidence; that is, good until contradicted or explained.

    The Book of Household Management Isabella Mary 1861

  • It is only what the law terms primâ facie evidence; that is, good until contradicted or explained.

    The Book of Household Management Isabella Mary 1861

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.