primer

Other forms: primers

A primer gets you ready for what comes next. You could use one kind of primer when you are learning to read, or another kind when you are preparing to paint a room.

Any way you use the word primer, it's a first step or preparation for something else. There's primer you use before painting, and an engine primer that prepares a machine to be started. In these examples, primer rhymes with timer. When primer describes an introductory textbook, it rhymes with dimmer. In the 14th century, a primer was a prayer book. This word comes from primus, the Latin word for first.

Definitions of primer

1. noun

   an introductory textbook
   types:

   speller

   an introductory textbook to teach spelling

   hornbook

   a primer that provides instruction in the rudiments or basic skills of a branch of knowledge

   type of:

   school text, schoolbook, text, text edition, textbook

   a book prepared for use in schools or colleges