primate

See also: Primate

English

WOTD – 29 March 2016
A gorilla, which is a type of primate (sense 1), in Duisburg Zoo, Duisburg, Germany.
A ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), a species of primate (sense 1).

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

First attested in 1876. From French primate, from the substantivization of Latin prīmās, prīmātis (“one of the first, chief, excellent, noble”), same as Etymology 2. So named due to the belief that primates are the highest order of mammals or animals.

Noun

primate (plural primates)

  2. (zoology) Any of the order Primates of mammals characterized by relatively large brains, grasping hands or feet, and forward-facing eyes, including apes, monkeys, lemurs, tarsiers, lorises, galagos, etc.
    Primates range from lemurs to gorillas.
  3. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (informal) An anthropoid; an ape, including humans.
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

First attested in c. 1275. From Middle English primat(e), from Old French primat (French primat), from Late Latin prīmās, prīmātis (“chief bishop”), substantivisation of prīmās (same as Etymology 1), from prīmus (“prime, first in rank (also as a substantive)”). Compare English primus, of similar derivation and meaning.

Pronunciation

Noun

primate (plural primates)

  2. (Christianity) In the Catholic Church, a rare title conferred to or claimed by the sees of certain archbishops, or the highest-ranking bishop of a present or historical, usually political circumscription.
    The Archbishop of Quebec is the primate of Canada.
  4. (Christianity) In the Orthodox Church, the presiding bishop of an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or region. Usually, the expression primate refers to the first hierarch of an autocephalous or autonomous Orthodox church. Less often, it is used to refer to the ruling bishop of an archdiocese or diocese.
  6. (Christianity) In the Anglican Church, an archbishop, or the highest-ranking bishop of an ecclesiastic province.
Usage notes
  • To disambiguate from sense 1, which is always pronounced /'pɹaɪmeɪt/, sense 2 is often pronounced /ˈpɹaɪmət/ (rhymes with "climate"), but it can also be pronounced the same as sense 1.
Derived terms
Translations

See also

French

Pronunciation

Noun

primate m (plural primates)

  1. primate (mammal)
  2. (colloquial) a coarse man (male)

See also

Further reading

Anagrams

Galician

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɾiˈmate/ [pɾiˈma.t̪ɪ]
  • Rhymes: -ate
  • Hyphenation: pri‧ma‧te

Noun

primate m (plural primates)

  1. primate (animal)

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /priˈma.te/
  • Rhymes: -ate
  • Hyphenation: pri‧mà‧te

Noun

primate m (plural primati)

  1. primate (ecclesiastical title)

Anagrams

Serbo-Croatian

Verb

primate (Cyrillic spelling примате)

  1. second-person plural present of primati

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɾiˈmate/ [pɾiˈma.t̪e]
  • Rhymes: -ate
  • Syllabification: pri‧ma‧te

Etymology 1

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *per-
Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-der.
Proto-Italic *pri
Proto-Indo-European *-yōs
Proto-Indo-European *-(t)m̥mos
Proto-Indo-European *-is(t)m̥mós
Proto-Italic *-isəmos
Proto-Italic *prīsmos
Latin prīmus
Latin -̄ās
Latin prīmātemlbor.
Spanish primate

    Learned borrowing from Latin prīmātem (“first, principal; hero”).

    Noun

    primate m (plural primates)

    1. primate (animal)

    Etymology 2

    Verb

    primate

    1. second-person singular voseo imperative of primar combined with te

    Further reading

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