Primacy
noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 The state or condition of being prime or first, as in time, place, rank, etc. uncountable, usually
"The court affirmed the primacy of federal law."
- 2 the state of being first in importance wordnet
- 3 Excellence; supremacy. archaic, uncountable, usually
- 4 The office, rank, or character of a primate, it being the chief ecclesiastical station or dignity in a national church. uncountable, usually
"Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor in Eastern Orthodoxy, emphasized the many areas of agreement between Pope Francis and himself in response to the social concerns of the day."
- 5 The office or dignity of an archbishop. uncountable, usually
Example
More examples"It's that spirit—a faith in reason, and enterprise, and the primacy of right over might—that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression; that allowed us to build a post-World War II order with other democracies, an order based not just on military power or national affiliations but built on principles—the rule of law, human rights, freedom of religion, and speech, and assembly, and an independent press."
Etymology
From Old French primacie, from Medieval Latin primatia (“office of a church primate”), from Latin primas plus a suffix corresponding to -acy. By surface analysis, prime + -acy.
Related phrases
More for "primacy"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.