# primal

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈpɹaɪməl/ · frequency rank #19,174

## Definitions
1. Being the first in time or in history.
2. Of greatest importance; primary.
3. Being one of the pieces of meat initially separated from the carcass during butchering, prior to division into smaller cuts.

## Etymology
Probably partly from Medieval Latin prīmālis, from Latin prīmus (“first”) + -ālis, and partly from prime + -al.

## Easily confused with
- **prime** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-prime)
- **primo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-primo)
- **Priya** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-priya)
- **primer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-primer)
- **primed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-primed)
- **primes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-primes)
- **primus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-primus)
- **primary** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-primary)
- **primate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-primate)
- **proximal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-proximal)
- **primeval** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primal-vs-primeval)
- **prim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/prim-vs-primal)
- **Pima** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pima-vs-primal)
- **prima** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/prima-vs-primal)
- **primacy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primacy-vs-primal)

## Common misspellings (9)
`pirmal`, `pprimal`, `priaml`, `primall`, `primla`, `primmal`, `prmial`, `prrimal`, `rpimal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/primal