primate
See also: Primate
English
WOTD – 29 March 2016
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈpɹaɪmeɪt/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Hyphenation: pri‧mate
Etymology 1
From French primate, from Latin primas (“one of the first, chief, excellent, noble”). So named due to the belief that primates are the “highest” order of mammals/animals. First attested in 1876.
Noun
primate (plural primates)
- (zoology) A mammal of the order Primates, including simians and prosimians.
- Primates range from lemurs to gorillas.
- (informal) A simian anthropoid; an ape, human or monkey.
Hyponyms
- See also Thesaurus:primate
- ape
- aye-aye
- capuchin
- douroucouli
- entrina (Indri indri)
- galago
- gibbon
- great ape
- howler monkey
- human, human being
- indri (Indri indri)
- lemur
- loris
- marmoset
- monkey
- night monkey
- owl monkey
- potto
- saki
- simian
- spider monkey
- squirrel monkey
- tamarin
- tarsier
- titi
- uakari
- woolly monkey
Translations
mammal
|
Etymology 2
From Middle English primate, primat, from Old French primat, from Late Latin prīmās (“chief bishop”), substantivisation of prīmās, an alternative form of prīmus (“prime, first rank”). Compare English primus, of similar derivation and meaning. First attested in c. 1200.
Noun
primate (plural primates)
- (ecclesiastical) 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.
- (ecclesiastical) 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.
- (ecclesiastical) In the Anglican Church, an archbishop, or the highest-ranking bishop of an ecclesiastic province.
Derived terms
- Primate of All England
- Primate of England
- Primate of the Gauls
- Primates
- primateship
- prince-primate
Related terms
- primatial
- primus
Translations
archbishop or bishop
|
See also
- ultimate
- exarch
- patriarch
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pʁi.mat/
Audio (CAN) (file)
Noun
primate m (plural primates)
- primate (mammal)
See also
- primat m
- primauté
- primatie
Further reading
- “primate”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
- empirât, trempai
Galician
Noun
primate m (plural primates)
- primate (animal)
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /priˈma.te/
- Rhymes: -ate
- Hyphenation: pri‧mà‧te
Noun
primate m (plural primati)
- primate (ecclesiastical title)
Related terms
- primati (mammals) (plurale tantum)
- primato (primacy)
Anagrams
- impetra, tempari, temprai
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɾiˈmate/ [pɾiˈma.t̪e]
- Rhymes: -ate
- Syllabification: pri‧ma‧te
Noun
primate m (plural primates)
- primate (animal)
Verb
primate
- second-person singular voseo imperative of primar combined with te
Further reading
- “primate”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014