primum mobile
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primum mobile
- /ˌpɹaɪməm ˈməʊbɪli/ UK
- /ˌpriː-/ UK
- /-leɪ/ UK
- /ˌpɹaɪməm ˈmoʊbəˌli/ US
Where it comes from
From Middle English primum mobile (“outermost celestial sphere causing other spheres to move”), borrowed from Medieval Latin prīmum mōbile (literally “first mover”), a calque of Arabic مُحَرِّك أَوَّل (muḥarrik ʔawwal, “first mover”), which is itself a calque of Ancient Greek τὸ πρῶτον κινῆσαν (tò prôton kinêsan, “prime mover”).
noun primum mobiles · prima mobilia
- The outermost celestial sphere of the heavens in Ptolemaic astronomy, which was believed to cause all the inner spheres to rotate. But as there is a double motion of the stars, that is, under the primum mobile, and round the world, by both which, as we have said, they influence, we must consequently suppose, that the significators rule over things subjected to them by this twofold (or double) motion, to wit, under the primum mo
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The prime mover or first cause (“an initial cause from which all other causes and effects follow”).
Have we got among our primum mobiles the force of such elastic vapours as be generated for the purpose out of nonelastic substances, and are not incondensible? A good magazine of vitr[iolic] acid and powder'd marble would not only save the expence of air in feeding fire, but generate heat.
Similar: primus motor
- The person or thing that is the main impetus for some action; a driving force. The great wheels, the primum mobiles, that have gone so violently and brought us into this confusion, I move that you will proceed against them, and that the king's gracious intentions may have farther effect, and those only excepted.
Translations
Every language
noun prime mover or first cause — see also prime mover
| Español | primer móvil |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 起因 qǐyīn, 始因 shǐyīn |
| Italiano | primo mobile |
| Русский | первопричи́на pervopričína |
Talk about this word "primum mobile." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/primum%20mobile. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. primum mobile. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/primum%20mobile "primum mobile." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/primum%20mobile.Cite this
@misc{primum_mobile_2026,
title = {primum mobile},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/primum%20mobile},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
