preeminent
adjUK /pɹiːˈɛmɪnənt/ · US /priˈɛm ə nənt/
Etymology Borrowed from Middle French preeminent and its source, Latin praeēminēns, present participle of praeēmineō (“to stand out, excel”), from prae- (“pre-”) + ēmineō.
1
Exceeding others in quality or rank; of outstanding excellence, extremely notable or important.
- China is still preeminent for its Goldfish, of which Pennant informs us that the most beautiful kinds, both for elegance of shape and richness of tinting, are taken in a small lake in the Province of Che-kyang.1863, H. Cholmondeley-Pennell, “The Carp Family”, in The Angler-Naturalist: A Popular History of British Fresh-water Fish, with a Plain Explanation of the Rudiments of Ichthyology, London: George Routledge and Sons, →OCLC, page 116:
- Derived terms
- preeminence, preeminently