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👶 Before primary school 🏫 A preschool class
preprimary

preprimary

3.9
A school or class for children before they start primary school
  • noun
  • /priːˈpraɪməri/
translation icon : educación preescolar
  • At the local preprimary, children learn through play and engage in creative activities.

Examples

  • These criteria can include areas in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains and encompass all phases of education—from the preprimary to the graduate.

    Academic text (1993)

  • We next analyze the facial displays of ten Republican presidential candidates recorded during the early (preprimary) stages of the 2012 presidential election to identify the range of affiliative expressions communicated to voters, producing an inventory of politically relevant smile types.

    Academic text (2015)

  • The preprimary class focuses on developing basic social skills in young children.

  • Many parents choose a preprimary program to prepare their kids for the transition to primary school.

Synonyms

nursery
vspreprimary
37 1.0

A place where young children are looked after and learn before starting school

focuses on structured education before primary rather than mainly providing care
nursery school
vspreprimary
12 1.6

A place where very young children learn before primary school

is broader applying to any educational program before primary school

How Early

preprimary
3.9
nursery
37 1.0
playgroup
3 1.0

Surface Forms

preprimary singular
preprimaries plural

Morphology

preprimary = preprimary (semi-transparent) = pre + primary

The noun is a substantivized use of the adjective 'preprimary', and the omitted idea of 'school', 'class', or 'program' is not fully explicit.

Etymology

Preprimary as a noun is literally a 'before-primary' school: pre- means 'before' and primary means 'first', so a preprimary is a class or school for young children before they start primary school.