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
- (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
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Latin primaevus (from primus ‘first’ + aevum ‘age’) + -al.