What is "prime"

Prime \Prime\, a. [F., fr. L. primus first, a superl. corresponding to the compar. prior former. See Prior, a., Foremost, Former, and cf. Prim, a., Primary, Prince.]

1. First in order of time; original; primeval; primitive; primary. ``Prime forests.''
   --Tennyson.

   She was not the prime cause, but I myself.
   --Milton.

   Note: In this sense the word is nearly superseded by primitive, except in the phrase prime cost.

2. First in rank, degree, dignity, authority, or importance; as, prime minister. ``Prime virtues.''
   --Dryden.

3. First in excellence; of highest quality; as, prime wheat; a prime quality of cloth.

4. Early; blooming; being in the first stage. [Poetic]

   His starry helm, unbuckled, showed him prime In manhood where youth ended.
   --Milton.

5. Lecherous; lustful; lewd. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

6. Marked or distinguished by a mark (') called a prime mark.

7. (Math.)

   1. Divisible by no number except itself or unity; as, 7 is a prime number.

   2. Having no common factor; -- used with to; as, 12 is prime to 25. Prime and ultimate ratio. (Math.). See Ultimate. Prime conductor. (Elec.) See under Conductor. Prime factor (Arith.), a factor which is a prime number. Prime figure (Geom.), a figure which can not be divided into any other figure more simple than itself, as a triangle, a pyramid, etc. Prime meridian (Astron.), the meridian from which longitude is reckoned, as the meridian of Greenwich or Washington. Prime minister, the responsible head of a ministry or executive government; applied particularly to that of England. Prime mover. (Mech.)

      1. A natural agency applied by man to the production of power. Especially: Muscular force; the weight and motion of fluids, as water and air; heat obtained by chemical combination, and applied to produce changes in the volume and pressure of steam, air, or other fluids; and electricity, obtained by chemical action, and applied to produce alternation of magnetic force.

      2. An engine, or machine, the object of which is to receive and modify force and motion as supplied by some natural source, and apply them to drive other machines; as a water wheel, a water-pressure engine, a steam engine, a hot-air engine, etc.

   3. Fig.: The original or the most effective force in any undertaking or work; as, Clarkson was the prime mover in English antislavery agitation.

      Prime number (Arith.), a number which is exactly divisible by no number except itself or unity, as 5, 7, 11.

      Prime vertical (Astron.), the vertical circle which passes through the east and west points of the horizon.

      Prime-vertical dial, a dial in which the shadow is projected on the plane of the prime vertical.

      Prime-vertical transit instrument, a transit instrument the telescope of which revolves in the plane of the prime vertical, -- used for observing the transit of stars over this circle.

Prime \Prime\, n.

1. The first part; the earliest stage; the beginning or opening, as of the day, the year, etc.; hence, the dawn; the spring.
   --Chaucer.

   In the very prime of the world.
   --Hooker.

   Hope waits upon the flowery prime.
   --Waller.

2. The spring of life; youth; hence, full health, strength, or beauty; perfection. ``Cut off in their prime.''
   --Eustace. ``The prime of youth.''
   --Dryden.

3. That which is first in quantity; the most excellent portion; the best part.

   Give him always of the prime.
   --Swift.

4. [F. prime, LL. prima (sc. hora). See Prime, a.] The morning; specifically (R. C. Ch.), the first canonical hour, succeeding to lauds.

   Early and late it rung, at evening and at prime.
   --Spenser.

   Note: Originally, prime denoted the first quarter of the artificial day, reckoned from 6 a. m. to 6 p. m. Afterwards, it denoted the end of the first quarter, that is, 9 a. m. Specifically, it denoted the first canonical hour, as now. Chaucer uses it in all these senses, and also in the sense of def. 1, above.

   They sleep till that it was pryme large.
   --Chaucer.

5. (Fencing) The first of the chief guards.

6. (Chem.) Any number expressing the combining weight or equivalent of any particular element; -- so called because these numbers were respectively reduced to their lowest relative terms on the fixed standard of hydrogen as 1.

7. (Arith.) A prime number. See under Prime, a.

8. An inch, as composed of twelve seconds in the duodecimal system; -- denoted by [']. See 2d Inch, n., 1.

   Prime of the moon, the new moon at its first appearance.

Prime \Prime\, v. i.

1. To be renewed, or as at first. [Obs.]

   Night's bashful empress, though she often wane, As oft repeats her darkness, primes again.
   --Quarles.

2. To serve as priming for the charge of a gun.

3. To work so that foaming occurs from too violent ebullition, which causes water to become mixed with, and be carried along with, the steam that is formed; -- said of a steam boiler.

Prime \Prime\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Primed; p. pr. & vb. n. Priming.] [From Prime, a.]

1. To apply priming to, as a musket or a cannon; to apply a primer to, as a metallic cartridge.

2. To lay the first color, coating, or preparation upon (a surface), as in painting; as, to prime a canvas, a wall.

3. To prepare; to make ready; to instruct beforehand; to post; to coach; as, to prime a witness; the boys are primed for mischief. [Colloq.]
   --Thackeray.

4. To trim or prune, as trees. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

5. (Math.) To mark with a prime mark.

   To prime a pump, to charge a pump with water, in order to put it in working condition.

late 14c., "first in order," from Latin primus "first, the first, first part," figuratively "chief, principal; excellent, distinguished, noble" (source also of Italian and Spanish primo), from pre-Italic *prismos, superlative of PIE *preis- "before," from root *per- (1) "beyond, through" (see per).\n

\nMeaning "first in importance" is from 1610s in English; that of "first-rate" is from 1620s. Arithmetical sense (as in prime number) is from 1560s; prime meridian is from 1878. Prime time originally (c.1500) meant "spring time;" broadcasting sense of "peak tuning-in period" is attested from 1961.

"earliest canonical hour" (6 a.m.), Old English prim, from Medieval Latin prima "the first service," from Latin prima hora "the first hour" (of the Roman day). Meaning "most vigorous stage" first recorded 1530s; specifically "springtime of human life" (often meaning ages roughly 21 to 28) is from 1590s. In classical Latin, noun uses of the adjective meant "first part, beginning; leading place."

"to fill, charge, load" (a weapon), 1510s, probably from prime (adj.). Meaning "to cover with a first coat of paint or dye" is from c.1600. To prime a pump (c.1840) meant to pour water down the tube, which saturated the sucking mechanism and made it draw up water more readily. Related: Primed; priming.

Etymology 1

1. 1 first in importance, degree, or rank. 2 first in time, order, or sequence. 3 first in excellence, quality, or value. 4 (context mathematics lay English) Having exactly two integral factors: itself and unity (1 in the case of integers). 5 (context mathematics technical English) Such that if it divides a product, it divides one of the multiplicands. 6 (context mathematics English) Having its complement closed under multiplication: said only of ideals. 7 Marked or distinguished by the prime symbol. 8 Early; blooming; being in the first stage. 9 (context obsolete English) Lecherous; lustful; lewd. n. 1 (context Christianity historical English) One of the daily offices of prayer of the Western Church, associated with the early morning (typically 6 a.m.). 2 (context obsolete English) The early morning. 3 (context now rare English) The earliest stage of something. 4 The most active, thriving, or successful stage or period. Etymology 2

   v

2. 1 (context transitive English) To prepare a mechanism for its main work. 2 (context transitive English) To apply a coat of primer paint to. 3 (context obsolete intransitive English) To be renewed. 4 (context intransitive English) To serve as priming for the charge of a gun. 5 (context intransitive of a steam boiler English) To work so that foaming occurs from too violent ebullition, which causes water to become mixed with, and be carried along with, the steam that is formed. 6 To apply priming to (a musket or cannon); to apply a primer to (a metallic cartridge). 7 To prepare; to make ready; to instruct beforehand; to coach. 8 (context UK dialect obsolete English) To trim or prune. 9 (context math English) To mark with a prime mark.

1. adj. first in rank or degree; "an architect of premier rank"; "the prime minister" [syn: premier(a), prime(a)]

2. used of the first or originating agent; "prime mover" [syn: prime(a)]

3. of superior grade; "choice wines"; "prime beef"; "prize carnations"; "quality paper"; "select peaches" [syn: choice, prime(a), prize, quality, select]

4. of or relating to or being an integer that cannot be factored into other integers; "prime number"

5. at the best stage; "our manhood's prime vigor"- Robert Browning

1. v. insert a primer into (a gun, mine, charge, etc.) preparatory to detonation or firing; "prime a cannon"; "prime a mine"

2. cover with a primer; apply a primer to [syn: ground, undercoat]

3. fill with priming liquid; "prime a car engine"

1. n. a number that has no factor but itself and 1 [syn: prime quantity]

2. the period of greatest prosperity or productivity [syn: flower, peak, heyday, bloom, blossom, efflorescence, flush]

3. the second canonical hour; about 6 a.m.

4. the time of maturity when power and vigor are greatest [syn: prime of life]

A prime or prime number is a natural number that has exactly two distinct natural number divisors: 1 and itself.

Prime (Latin for "first") or the acronym PRIME may also refer to:

The prime symbol ( ′ ), double prime symbol ( ″ ), triple prime symbol ( ‴ ), quadruple prime symbol ( ⁗ ) etc., are used to designate units and for other purposes in mathematics, the sciences, linguistics and music. The prime symbol should not be confused with the apostrophe, single quotation mark, acute accent, or grave accent; the double prime symbol should not be confused with the double quotation mark, the ditto mark, or the letter double apostrophe. The prime symbol is very similar to the Hebrew geresh, but in modern fonts the geresh is designed to be aligned with the Hebrew letters and the prime symbol not, so they should not be interchanged.

In mathematics, an element p of a partial order (P, ≤) is a meet prime element when p is the principal element of a principal prime ideal. Equivalently, if P is a lattice, p ≠ top, and for all a, b in P,

Prime is a 2005 American romantic comedy film starring Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep and Bryan Greenberg. It was written and directed by Ben Younger. The film grossed $67,937,503 worldwide.

PrimeConcept/PRIME is a Russian company, headquartered in Moscow.

PRIME (PRobe Incorporation Mediated by Enzymes) is a molecular biology research tool developed by Alice Y. Ting and the Ting Lab at MIT for site-specific labeling of proteins in living cells with chemical probes. Probes often have useful biophysical properties, such as fluorescence, and allow imaging of proteins. Ultimately, PRIME enables scientists to study functions of specific proteins of interest.

Prime is the second privately owned national free-to-air television broadcaster currently available in New Zealand. The broadcaster airs a varied mix of programming, largely imported from Australia, the UK and the United States, as well as free-to-air rugby union and cricket matches.

It was originally owned by Prime Television Limited in Australia. Prime later entered into a joint-venture agreement with Nine Entertainment Co. (Nine Network Australia), causing the network's graphics to look like Nine Network. On 8 February 2006, the Commerce Commission gave Sky Television clearance to purchase the station for NZ$31 million.

Prime's analogue terrestrial signals had covered 91% of the population via the state-owned Kordia transmission network. It is currently available in digitally free-to-air form via Sky Network Television on satellite and Kordia on terrestrial. Vodafone also carry the channel for their cable subscribers in Wellington and Christchurch.

Prime is a superhero created by Bob Jacob, Gerard Jones, Len Strazewski, and Norm Breyfogle. He debuted in Prime #1 under Malibu Comics' Ultraverse imprint, and was one of its flagship characters along with Mantra and Hardcase . The character design was credited to Bret Blevins. The character also appeared in the superhero group Ultraforce.

Prime is really a thirteen-year-old boy named Kevin Green with the power to transform into a super-powered adult. In this sense, he is much like the Golden Age Captain Marvel. Like the Modern Age version of Captain Marvel, Kevin retains the thoughts, memories and consciousness of his thirteen-year-old self as Prime. This is a chief source of conflict for the character as he is frequently placed in adult situations and circumstances he may not be mature enough to deal with.

Prime, or the First Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office (Canonical Hours), said at the first hour of daylight (approximately 7:00 a.m.), between the morning Hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. Hour of Terce. It is part of the Christian liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but in the Latin Rite it was suppressed by the liturgical reforms following the Second Vatican Council. However, clergy who have an obligation to celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours may still fulfil their obligation by using the Roman Breviary promulgated by Pope John XXIII in 1962, which contains the Hour of Prime. Like all the liturgical hours, except the Office of Readings, it consists primarily of Psalms. It is one of the Little Hours.

Prime is a Belgian premium television service owned by Telenet, the Belgian content division of Liberty Global. Prime launched together with its sister service Prime Sport (later Sporting Telenet and now Play Sports) on September 3, 2005 and replaced the Canal+ Flanders television channels. The service offers multiple film channels with Belgian and international productions many of which are television premières.

The service launched with five channels and a timeshift version of the main channel. Starting March 2015, all channels are broadcsted exclusively in HD, the timeshift version of PRIME Star (PRIME Star +1) has thus been closed down. The channels are only available on Telenet (Belgium) and its Yelo Play service with the Play More package.

PRIME is a specification for narrow band powerline communication. Power-line communication uses power lines as transmission media.

PRIME is an acronym for "PoweRline Intelligent Metering Evolution".

PRIME was conceived in 2007. First publications date back to 2008. In 2009 multi-vendor interoperability was demonstrated and the PRIME Alliance launched. The PRIME Alliance has interoperability tests in place, which are carried out by multiple accredited test laboratories. Currently, the tests have been passed by over 40 products.

Most popular usage of PRIME is in AMI. According to PRIME Alliance more than 5 million meters in 9 countries are deployed.

Jose "Prime" Reza, (b. October 5, 1971) is a Mexican-American Dark Progressivist artist born and raised in the Pico-Union District of Downtown Los Angeles. Prime is credited with being a founding father of Los Angeles stylized graffiti lettering, a hybrid of Cholo lettering and East Coast style graffiti that is often bold, aggressive, and monochromatic.

Prime is considered one of the most influential artists in the history of Los Angeles public wall writing, combining "traditional east coast painting techniques with geometric gangster-style blocks."

Complex Magazine included Prime on their list "25 greatest L.A. Graffiti Writers" noting that, "...his pieces from the early 80's still shit on most stuff today." The Vibe History of Hip Hop acknowledges Prime's vital contributions to L.A.'s distinctive graffiti style in a chapter titled "Early Los Angeles Hip Hop" written by Ben Higa.