Question

in the investigation both of the orthography and signification of words, their etymology was necessarily to be considered, and they were therefore to be divided into primitives and derivatives. a primitive word, is that which can be traced no further to any english root; thus circumspect, circumvent, circumstance, debase, concave and complicate, though compounds in the latin, are to us primitives. —preface to a dictionary of the english language, samuel johnson what is the connotation of the word primitives as it is used in the passage? based on the word’s connotation, what is the meaning of primitives as it is used in the passage?

Explanation:

To determine the connotation and meaning of "primitives" in the passage, we analyze the context. The passage discusses word investigation (orthography, signification, etymology) and classifies words into primitives and derivatives. A "primitive word" is defined as one that can't be traced further to any English root (even if they are compounds in Latin, like circumspect, circumvent, etc., they are primitives for English).

For connotation: The term "primitives" here has a neutral, technical connotation related to word etymology and structure—referring to basic, root - like words in English that have no further English etymological breakdown.

For meaning: "Primitives" (in the context of English words) are words that cannot be traced back to any English root; they are the basic, non - derivative (in terms of English etymology) words, even if they have compound origins in other languages (like Latin) but no English root to break down into.

Answer:

Connotation: Neutral, technical (relating to word etymology/structure, referring to basic, root - like English words with no further English etymological breakdown).
Meaning: Words in the English language that cannot be traced back to any English root (even if they are compounds in other languages like Latin, they are considered primitives for English as they have no English root to decompose into).