// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the primitive element say? It was a basic atom.

In mathematics, the term primitive element can mean:

• Primitive root modulo n, in number theory
• Primitive element (field theory), an element that generates a given field extension
• Primitive element (finite field), an element that generates the multiplicative group of a finite field
• Primitive element (lattice), an element in a lattice that is not a positive integer multiple of another element in the lattice
• Primitive element (coalgebra), an element X on which the comultiplication Δ has the value Δ(X) = X⊗1 + 1⊗X
• Primitive element (free group), an element of a free generating set
• Primitive element (Lie algebra), a Borel-weight vector

See also

• Primitive element theorem
• Primitive root (disambiguation)