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First (feminine), as in prima volta, the first-time ending; also the adverb ‘before’, as in come prima (as before) and poco meno che prima (a little less than before).
Appears inside phrases rather than alone: come prima (as before) and meno … che prima above the staff refer back to an earlier tempo or manner, while prima volta over a bracketed ending means first time.
The two senses are easy to confuse: in come prima the word means ‘before’, pointing back to an earlier tempo or character; in prima volta it means ‘first’, the first-time ending. When you write come prima after several tempo changes, make sure ‘before’ is unambiguous, or name the tempo outright.
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 (“Pathétique”), fourth movement, flute 1, m. 20: “Adagio poco meno che prima” — Adagio, a little less so than before — four bars after an “Andante”.
Prima is one of 1755 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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