- prim
[prim 词源字典] - prim: [18] Prim etymologically means ‘first’. It comes from Old French prime, the feminine form of prin ‘fine, excellent’, which went back to Latin prīmus ‘first’ (source of English prime). The English meaning developed through a derogatory ‘overrefined’.
=> first, prime[prim etymology, prim origin, 英语词源] - prim
- 1680s (v.) "to assume a formal, precise demeanor," perhaps from French prim "thin, small, delicate," from Old French prim "fine, delicate," from Latin primus "finest," literally "first" (see prime (adj.)). Later, "deck out, dress to effect" (1721). Attested as a noun from 1700. The adjective, the sole surviving sense, is from 1709. A cant word at first. Related: Primly; primness.
