Describes something in its earliest, simplest, or most basic stage of development, often with a nuance of being unsophisticated or unrefined. Can refer to technology, societies, methods, or ideas.
Primitive farming methods remain in this region.
His way of thinking is primitive.
From 原始 (げんし, 'origin, primitive') + 的 (てき, '-like, -ic'). The exact historical derivation is straightforward; 原始 itself is a Sino-Japanese compound.