Meanings
adjective
- obsoletein its prime
For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor, / Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, / A violet in the youth of primy nature, / Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, / The perfume and suppliance of a minute. / No more.
c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], lines 5-10
Origin
A Shakespearean coinage, from prime + -y.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
primy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/primy
MLA
“primy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/primy. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “primy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/primy.
Source: primy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.