primacy
nounUK /ˈpɹaɪ.mə.si/ · US /ˈpɹaɪ.mə.si/
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.
1
Usually The state or condition of being prime or first, as in time, place, rank, etc.
- establish the primacy of something
- acknowledge the primacy of something
4 more examples
- assert primacy
- The court affirmed the primacy of federal law.
- He argued for the primacy of reason over emotion.
- I am reading Nick Sousanis’ PhD dissertation-as-a-comic Unflattening. It debunks the primacy of word over image in Western culture and suggests that the two are equal partners in meaning-making.December 25 2016, Amruta Patil, “The book in my hand”, in The Hindu:
2
Archaic, Usually Excellence; supremacy.
3
Lifestyle, Religion Usually The office, rank, or character of a primate, it being the chief ecclesiastical station or dignity in a national church.
- 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.December 2 2016, Ecumenical Patriarch points to areas of agreement with Pope, Catholic World News:
4
Lifestyle, Religion Usually The office or dignity of an archbishop.
- Derived terms
- coprimacy, primacist, primacy effect