primordium

Noun

primordium (plural primordia)

1. An aggregation of cells that is the first stage in the development of an organ.
   • In tomato, for example, the first sepal primordium is formed as an outgrowth at the periphery of the apex and the subsequent sepal primordia are initiated in a helical fashion at an angle of approximately 137° from the previous one.2017, Taylor A. Steeves, Vipen K. Sawhney, Essentials of Developmental Plant Anatomy, Oxford University Press, page 29

   Synonyms:

   anlage, proton

2. A primordial, original condition or event.
   • It is thus vain to hope that the history of the primordia can be reduced to the progress of archeological investigation.1997 [1991], Alexandre Grandazzi, translated by Jane Marie Todd, The Foundation of Rome: Myth and History, →ISBN, page 33
   • Attempts have been made by historians of religion to distinguish between mythic orientations in time concerned with the repetition of a primordium and those concerned with the anticipation of an eschaton.2003, David Chidester, Salvation and Suicide: Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and Jonestown, 2nd edition, →ISBN, page 106