first among equals

first among equals

English

Etymology

Calque of Latin primus inter pares.

Pronunciation

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Noun

first among equals (plural firsts among equals)

1. (idiomatic) A person or position that is formally of equal rank to others in a group, but nonetheless takes a leading role within that group.

   The Orthodox consider the bishop of Rome to have always been merely a first among equals.

   • 2003, H. Y. Sharada Prasad, The Book I Won't be Writing and Other Essays, page 40:

     I wonder whether Margaret Thatcher, Harold Macmillan, Winston Churchill, Lloyd George, Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone (going back in time) thought of themselves as mere firsts among equals.

Translations

leading a group of equals

Danish: primus inter pares, først blandt ligemænd Hungarian: első az egyenlők között Irish: bheith i do shaoi i measc na sua Latin: prīmus inter parēs m Russian: пе́рвый сре́ди ра́вных (ru) (pérvyj srédi rávnyx) Spanish: primero entre iguales m