Prime Words

Like prime numbers, prime words are words that can’t be ‘divided’ by other words… they have no broader, simpler term from which they arose. Cavemen used a lot of them, maybe.

The list below started from a list of 100 basic words for children, if I recall correctly. It came from my work on a hierarchical dictionary: https://sites.google.com/site/coeptonomy/ It’s a hard project. The eventual dictionary, while it could conceivably be created manually, would be a great ‘social’ app in which the public randomly was given two words at a time and asked to determine whether one is broader or narrower than the other. In a few days the entire OED dictionary could be so ordered. Yes, there would be loops, but that’s OK.

• a
• about
• after
• and
• answer
• as
• at
• bad
• big
• but
• by
• can
• Copy Wow, the first link from Prime Words (Feb 8, 2011)
• do
• feel
• for
• from
• good
• happen
• have
• I
• if
• is
• like
• love
• long
• may
• must
• my
• no
• not
• of
• off
• oil
• or
• part
• place
• same
• see
• so
• than
• their
• then
• thing
• type
• way
• weather
• which
• you