primordial

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The Word of the Day for July 3 is:

primordial   \pry-MOR-dee-uhl\   adjective
    *1 a : first created or developed : primeval  b : existing 
in or persisting from the beginning (as of a solar system or 
universe)  c : earliest formed in the growth of an individual or 
organ : primitive
     2 : fundamental, primary

Example sentence:
     Theorists hold that the oceans and lakes of the early Earth 
served as a vast primordial soup whose rich blend of organic 
compounds nourished the first living organisms.

Did you know?
     The history of "primordial" began when the Latin 
words "primus" (meaning "first") and "ordiri" (meaning "to 
begin") came together to form "primordium," the Latin word 
for "origin." When it entered English in the 14th 
century, "primordial" was used in the general sense "primeval or 
primitive." Early on, there were hints that "primordial" would 
lend itself well to discussions of the earth's origins. Take, 
for instance, this passage from a 1398 translation of an 
encyclopedia called _On the Properties of Things_: "The virtu of 
God made primordial mater, in the whiche as it were in massy 
thinge the foure elementis were ... nought distinguishd." 
Nowadays, this primordial matter is often referred to in 
evolutionary theory as "primordial soup," a mixture of organic 
molecules from which life on earth originated.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.