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Prime mover   /praɪm mˈuvər/   Listen
adjective
Prime  adj.  
1.
First in order of time; original; primeval; primitive; primary. "Prime forests." "She was not the prime cause, but I myself." Note: In this sense the word is nearly superseded by primitive, except in the phrase prime cost.
2.
First in rank, degree, dignity, authority, or importance; as, prime minister. "Prime virtues."
3.
First in excellence; of highest quality; as, prime wheat; a prime quality of cloth.
4.
Early; blooming; being in the first stage. (Poetic) "His starry helm, unbuckled, showed him prime In manhood where youth ended."
5.
Lecherous; lustful; lewd. (Obs.)
6.
Marked or distinguished by a mark (´) called a prime mark. Note: In this dictionary the same typographic mark is used to indicate a weak accent in headwords, and minutes of a degree in angle measurements.
7.
(Math.)
(a)
Divisible by no number except itself or unity; as, 7 is a prime number.
(b)
Having no common factor; used with to; as, 12 is prime to 25.
Prime and ultimate ratio. (Math.). See Ultimate.
Prime conductor. (Elec.) See under Conductor.
Prime factor (Arith.), a factor which is a prime number.
Prime figure (Geom.), a figure which can not be divided into any other figure more simple than itself, as a triangle, a pyramid, etc.
Prime meridian (Astron.), the meridian from which longitude is reckoned, as the meridian of Greenwich or Washington.
Prime minister, the responsible head of a ministry or executive government; applied particularly to that of England.
Prime mover. (Mech.)
(a)
A natural agency applied by man to the production of power. Especially: Muscular force; the weight and motion of fluids, as water and air; heat obtained by chemical combination, and applied to produce changes in the volume and pressure of steam, air, or other fluids; and electricity, obtained by chemical action, and applied to produce alternation of magnetic force.
(b)
An engine, or machine, the object of which is to receive and modify force and motion as supplied by some natural source, and apply them to drive other machines; as a water wheel, a water-pressure engine, a steam engine, a hot-air engine, etc.
(c)
Fig.: The original or the most effective force in any undertaking or work; as, Clarkson was the prime mover in English antislavery agitation.
Prime number (Arith.), a number which is exactly divisible by no number except itself or unity, as 5, 7, 11.
Prime vertical (Astron.), the vertical circle which passes through the east and west points of the horizon.
Prime-vertical dial, a dial in which the shadow is projected on the plane of the prime vertical.
Prime-vertical transit instrument, a transit instrument the telescope of which revolves in the plane of the prime vertical, used for observing the transit of stars over this circle.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Prime mover" Quotes from Famous Books



... produced quite a commotion at the red cottage, where various opinions were expressed as to the prime mover of the plan, grandpa thinking that as Mrs. Agnes wrote the note, and was most interested in it, she, of course, had suggested it, grandma insisting that it was Jessie's doings, while Maddy, when she said anything, agreed with her grandmother, though away down in her heart was a tiny spot ...
— Aikenside • Mary J. Holmes
... looking at maps. When he became king he saw that the hope of Belgium economically lay in colonization. In 1860 he made a journey to the Far East, whence he returned deeply impressed with trade opportunities in China. Afterwards he was the prime mover in the construction of the Pekin-Hankow Railway. I do not think most persons know that Leopold at one time tried to establish a Belgian colony in Ethiopia. Another act in his life that has escaped the casual biographer was his effort to purchase the Philippines from Spain. Now you can see ...
— An African Adventure • Isaac F. Marcosson
... we were only instruments, like the axes in our hands; and the vengeance, therefore, fell upon the prime mover. The governor'—coming close up to the lady, and putting his mouth to her ear—'the governor died!' Now, all this was true—music, milk, blood, and death; and yet none of these was more the work of supernatural agency than any of the common ...
— Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 437 - Volume 17, New Series, May 15, 1852 • Various
... embodiment of the English official classes, of English diplomacy, of the English Government with its hesitations, its insincerities, its double-faced schemes. Sir Evelyn Baring, he almost came to think at moments, was the prime mover, the sole contriver, of the whole ...
— Eminent Victorians • Lytton Strachey
... had its meetin's under a big sycamoh tree down by de crick. Dey called it a Foh Day Baptis' Chu'ch—dat is, fer foh days you'se a Baptis', an' de rest de week you'se nuthin' 't all. Ole Zack wuz crazy 'bout it; in fac', he wuz de prime mover, cyarrin' on most of his op'rations durin' dem las' three days. Well, de Cunnel give us one of de out-buildin's fer dis heah weddin', an' I'd done made de cake—I'd done made two cakes, but de second wuz fer Miss Ann's bu'fday; ...
— Sunlight Patch • Credo Fitch Harris


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