primate

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: pri=mate

CIDE DICTIONARY

primate, n. [OE. primat, F. primat, L. primas, -atis one of the first, chief, fr. primus the first. See Prime, a.].

•  The chief ecclesiastic in a national church; one who presides over other bishops in a province; an archbishop.  [1913 Webster]
•  One of the Primates.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

primate, n.
1 any animal of the order Primates, the highest order of mammals, including tarsiers, lemurs, apes, monkeys, and man.
2 an archbishop.

Idiom

Primate of All England the Archbishop of Canterbury. Primate of England the Archbishop of York.

Derivative

primatial adj. primatology n. (in sense 1).

Etymology

ME f. OF primat f. L primas -atis (adj.) of the first rank f. primus first, in med.L = primate

DEVIL DICTIONARY

primate

n. The head of a church, especially a State church supported by involuntary contributions. The Primate of England is the Archbishop of Canterbury, an amiable old gentleman, who occupies Lambeth Palace when living and Westminster Abbey when dead. He is commonly dead.

THESAURUS

primate

Australanthropus, Australopithecus, Barbary ape, Bronze Age man, Cro-Magnon man, Galley Hill man, Gigantopithecus, Grand Penitentiary, Grimaldi man, Heidelberg man, Holy Father, Hominidae, Iron Age man, Neanderthal man, Oreopithecus, Paranthropus, Peking man, Pithecanthropus, Plesianthropus, Rhodesian man, Sinanthropus, Stone Age man, Swanscombe man, Zinjanthropus, aboriginal, aborigine, abuna, amphibian, ancient, angwantibo, antediluvian, anthropoid, anthropoid ape, antipope, ape, ape-man, aquatic, archbishop, archdeacon, archpriest, autochthon, aye-aye, baboon, back-number, behind the times, biped, bishop, bishop coadjutor, bushman, canine, cannibal, canon, capuchin, cardinal, cardinal bishop, cardinal deacon, cardinal priest, carnivore, cave dweller, caveman, chacma, chaplain, chimpanzee, coadjutor, cosmopolite, curate, dated, dean, diocesan, drill, ecclesiarch, entellus, eolithic man, exarch, feline, fossil man, gibbon, gnawer, gorilla, guenon, guereza, hanuman, has-been, herbivore, hierarch, high priest, hominid, humanoid, insectivore, invertebrate, langur, lemur, macaque, mammal, mammalian, man, man of old, mandrill, marmoset, marsupial, marsupialian, metropolitan, missing link, mountain gorilla, neolithic man, old hat, old-fashioned, old-timey, oldfangled, omnivore, orang, orangutan, out of fashion, out of season, out-of-date, outdated, outmoded, papa, patriarch, penitentiary, pontiff, pope, preadamite, prebendary, prehistoric man, prehuman, prelate, primitive, proboscis monkey, protohuman, quadruped, rector, reptile, rhesus, rodent, ruminant, rural dean, saki, scavenger, styleless, subdean, suffragan, troglodyte, unfashionable, ungulate, varmint, vermin, vertebrate, vicar

ROGET THESAURUS

primate

Clergy

N clergy, clericals, ministry, priesthood, presbytery, the cloth, the desk, clergyman, divine, ecclesiastic, churchman, priest, presbyter, hierophant, pastor, shepherd, minister, father, father in Christ, padre, abbe, cure, patriarch, reverend, black coat, confessor, dignitaries of the church, ecclesiarch, hierarch, ebdomarius, eminence, reverence, elder, primate, metropolitan, archbishop, bishop, prelate, diocesan, suffragan, dean, subdean, archdeacon, prebendary, canon, rural dean, rector, parson, vicar, perpetual curate, residentiary, beneficiary, incumbent, chaplain, curate, deacon, deaconess, preacher, reader, lecturer, capitular, missionary, propagandist, Jesuit, revivalist, field preacher, churchwarden, sidesman, clerk, precentor, choir, almoner, suisse, verger, beadle, sexton, sacristan, acolyth, acolothyst, acolyte, altar boy, chorister, Pope, Papa, pontiff, high priest, cardinal, ancient flamen, flamen, confessor, penitentiary, spiritual director, cenobite, conventual, abbot, prior, monk, friar, lay brother, beadsman, mendicant, pilgrim, palmer, canon regular, canon secular, Franciscan, Friars minor, Minorites, Observant, Capuchin, Dominican, Carmelite, Augustinian, Gilbertine, Austin Friars, Black Friars, White Friars, Gray Friars, Crossed Friars, Crutched Friars, Bonhomme, Carthusian, Benedictine, Cistercian, Trappist, Cluniac, Premonstatensian, Maturine, Templar, Hospitaler, Bernardine, Lorettine, pillarist, stylite, abbess, prioress, canoness, religieuse, nun, novice, postulant, prophet, priest, high priest, Levite, Rabbi, Rabbin, Rebbe, scribe, mullah, muezzin, ayatollah, ulema, imaum, imam, sheik, sufi, kahin, kassis, mufti, hadji, dervish, fakir, faquir, brahmin, guru, kaziaskier, poonghie, sanyasi, druid, bonze, santon, abdal, Lama, talapoin, caloyer, the Reverend, the very Reverend, the Right Reverend, ordained, in orders, called to the ministry.