primary

Primary is a term used to describe something that is first in order, importance, or origin. It derives from Latin primarius, meaning first.

In politics, a primary election is an election to select a party's candidate for a subsequent general election. Primary contests determine which individual will represent the party in the main ballot, and they can be open or closed depending on jurisdiction.

In education, primary refers to the first years of formal schooling, typically covering ages 5–11; the term is used in phrases like primary school and primary education.

In color theory, primary colors are colors that cannot be created by mixing other colors and are used to mix a broad range of colors. There are different systems: light-based additive primaries (red, green, blue) and pigment-based subtractive primaries (cyan, magenta, yellow), with historical variants such as red, yellow, and blue used in art.

In research and publishing, a primary source is an original document or physical artifact that provides firsthand evidence about a topic; primary sources are contrasted with secondary sources, which analyze, interpret, or summarize original material.

In computing, a primary key is an attribute or set of attributes that uniquely identifies a record in a database table. It is used to establish and enforce entity integrity and to reference records from related tables.

In economics, the primary sector refers to the extraction and harvesting of natural resources, including agriculture, mining, forestry, and fishing. This sector is fundamental for supplying raw materials to other parts of the economy.