Where does “primitively” come from?
Primitively derives from Middle English -ly adverbial suffix added to primitive, from Latin primitivus meaning "first or original," formed with the Latin suffix -ivus from Proto-Indo-European per- and līg-.
primitively (English): In a primitive manner
Ancestry of “primitively”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | primitive | An original or primary word; a word not derived... |
| 2 | Old French | primitif | — |
| 3 | Latin | prīmitīvus | — |
| 4 | Latin | primitus | originally, at first, from the first, from/at... |
| 5 | Latin | prīmus | — |
| 6 | Latin | prīsmos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | priisemos | foremost, first |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |