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primeval

adjective
🔊/praɪˈmiːvl/
🔊/praɪˈmiːvl/
(British English also primaeval)
[usually before noun]
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  1. from the earliest period of the history of the world, very ancient远古的；原始的
    • primeval forests原始森林
    • primeval soup (= the mixture of gases and substances that is thought to have existed when the earth was formed and from which life started)原始汤
    Topics Historyc2
  2. (formal) (of a feeling, or a desire感觉或欲望) very strong and not based on reason, as if from the earliest period of human life出于原始天性的
    • primeval urges本能的欲望
    3. Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Latin primaevus (from primus ‘first’ + aevum ‘age’) + -al.