primate
noun/ˈpɹaɪmət/
Etymology First attested in c. 1275. From Middle English primat(e), from Old French primat (French primat), from Late Latin prīmās, prīmātis (“chief bishop”), substantivisation of prīmās (same as Etymology 1), from prīmus (“prime, first in rank (also as a substantive)”). Compare English primus, of similar derivation and meaning.
Christianity 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.
Christianity 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.
Christianity In the Anglican Church, an archbishop, or the highest-ranking bishop of an ecclesiastic province.
- Derived terms
- abbot primate, archprimate, primate city, Primate of All England, Primate of England, Primate of the Gauls, primateship, primatical, prince-primate