Palabra Primitiva
From palabra and primitiva, from Latin primitivus ('first, original')
Palabras primitivas (primitive / base words) are words that do not come from other words within the same language. Since they cannot be reduced to anything simpler inside that language, they are considered the origin of every other word in their family1.
Examples
| Base word | Word family |
|---|---|
| Pájaro ("bird") | pajarito ("little bird") pajarero ("bird-related") pajarraco ("big ugly bird") pajarera ("aviary")... |
| Pan ("bread") | panadero ("baker") panadería ("bakery") panal ("honeycomb") panecillo ("bread roll") empanada ("stuffed pastry")... |
| Leche ("milk") | lechero ("milkman") lechería ("dairy shop") láctea ("dairy / milky") láctico ("lactic")... |
- 1
Word family (familia de palabras): A word or words that share a common origin. For example: petición ("petition"), pedido ("order, request"), impedimento ("impediment"), apetito ("appetite"), competir ("to compete") are a family because they all derive from pedir ("to ask for"), which in turn comes from Latin petere ("to head toward a place, to aspire to something").