Primaarne

Primaarne is an Estonian adjective meaning primary, first in order, or principal. It is used to describe priority or importance and appears in both everyday language and specialized terminology in fields such as science, medicine, and information technology.

The word is derived from Latin primarius ("of first rank") and has entered Estonian through Germanic and other European linguistic influences. It is common in formal and academic registers and is routinely used to form compound phrases in technical contexts.

Usage of primaarne spans several domains. In general language, it modifies nouns to denote primacy, for example primaarne allikas (primary source) or primaarne eesmärk (primary objective). In medicine, primaarne haigus refers to a disease that originates in the body rather than as a consequence of another condition, and primaarne sümptom describes a primary symptom. In science and research, the term helps distinguish initial or principal factors from secondary ones.

In information technology and data management, primaarvõti is the standard term for the primary key of a database table, and related expressions appear in database design literature. The word can also appear in theoretical descriptions where first-order status is emphasized.

Antonyms and related terms include sekundaarne (secondary) and esmane (primary, a closely related synonym). Primaarne commonly contrasts with secondary concepts across disciplines, underscoring its role in signaling primacy or origin.