PRIME

Fr. In French law. The price of the risk assumed by an insurer; premium of insurance. Emerig. Traite des Assur. c. 3, § 1, nn. 1, 2.

Fr. In French law. The price of the risk assumed by an insurer; premium of insurance. Fmerig. Traite des Assur. ¢c. 8, § 1, nn 1, 2 PRIME, v. To stand first or paramount; to take precedence or priority of; to outrank; as, in the sentence “taxes prime all other liens.”

A right of the crown to name to the first prebend that becomes vacant after the accession of the sovereign, in every church of the kingdom. This right was exercised by the crown of England in the reign of Edward I. 2 Steph. Com. 670, n. PRECEPT (Lat, precipio, to com- mand). A writ directed to the sheriff, or other officer, commanding him to do some- thing.

First in order of time; original; primeval; primitive; primary. "Prime forests." Tennyson. She was not the prime cause, but I myself. Milton. First in rank, degree, dignity, authority, or importance; as, prime minister. "Prime virtues." Dryden. First in excellence; of highest quality; as, prime wheat; a prime quality of cloth. Early; blooming; being in the first stage. [Poetic] His starry helm, unbuckled, showed him prime In manhood where youth ended. Milton. Lecherous; lustful; lewd. [Obs.] Shak. Marked or distinguished by a mark (') called a prime mark. 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.) (a) 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. (b) 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. (c) 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.

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. The spring of life; youth; hence, full health, strength, or beauty; perfection. "Cut off in their prime." Eustace. "The prime of youth." Dryden. That which is first in quantity; the most excellent portion; the best part. Give him always of the prime. Swift. The morning; specifically (R. C. Ch.), the first canonical hour, succeeding to lauds. Early and late it rung, at evening and at prime. Spenser. The first of the chief guards. 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. [Obs. or Archaic] A prime number. See under Prime, a. 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.

To apply priming to, as a musket or a cannon; to apply a primer to, as a metallic cartridge. To lay the first color, coating, or preparation upon (a surface), as in painting; as, to prime a canvas, a wall. 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. To trim or prune, as trees. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] To mark with a prime mark. To prime a pump, to charge a pump with water, in order to put it in working condition.

To fill or prepare the chamber of a mechanism for its main work. | To apply a coat of primer paint to. | To be renewed. | To serve as priming for the charge of a gun. | 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. | To apply priming to (a musket or cannon); to apply a primer to (a metallic cartridge). | To prepare; to make ready. | To instruct beforehand, as for an examination; to coach. | To trim or prune. | To mark with a prime mark.

First in importance, degree, or rank. | First in time, order, or sequence. | First in excellence, quality, or value. | Having exactly two integral factors: itself and unity (1 in the case of integers). | Such that if it divides a product, it divides one of the multiplicands. | Having its complement closed under multiplication. | Such that the annihilator of any nonzero submodule is equal to the annihilator of the whole module. | Marked or distinguished by the prime symbol. | Early; blooming; being in the first stage. | Lecherous, lewd, lustful.

The first hour of daylight; the first canonical hour. | The religious service appointed to this hour. | The early morning generally. | The earliest stage of something. | The most active, thriving, or successful stage or period. | The chief or best individual or part. | Something which is first in importance or rank: a prime defense company, mortgage lender, etc. | The first note or tone of a musical scale. | The first defensive position, with the sword hand held at head height, and the tip of the sword at head height. | A prime element of a mathematical structure, particularly a prime number. | A four-card hand containing one card of each suit in the game of primero; the opposite of a flush in poker. | A series of consecutive blocks. A prime of six prevents the opponent's pieces from passing. | The symbol ′ used to indicate feet, minutes, derivation and other measures and mathematical operations. | 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. | An inch, as composed of twelve seconds in the duodecimal system. | The priming in a flintlock. | Contraction of prime lens, a film lens. | A feather, from the wing of the cock ostrich, that is of the palest possible shade. | A stimulus which causes priming.