primate

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See also: Primate

English

WOTD – 29 March 2016
A gorilla, which is a type of primate, in Duisburg Zoo, Duisburg, Germany

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)

  1. (zoology) A mammal of the order Primates, including simians and prosimians.
    Primates range from lemurs to gorillas.
  2. (informal) A simian anthropoid; an ape, human or monkey.
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations

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)

  1. (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.
    The Archbishop of Quebec is the primate of Canada.
  2. (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.
  3. (ecclesiastical) In the Anglican Church, an archbishop, or the highest-ranking bishop of an ecclesiastic province.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

See also

French

French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Pronunciation

Noun

primate m (plural primates)

  1. primate (mammal)

See also

Further reading

Anagrams

Galician

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɾiˈmate/
  • 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)

Related terms

Anagrams

Serbo-Croatian

Verb

primate (Cyrillic spelling примате)

  1. second-person plural present of primati

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɾiˈmate/
  • Rhymes: -ate
  • Syllabification: pri‧ma‧te

Etymology 1

Borrowed 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

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia