primate

American  

[prahy-meyt, prahy-mit] / ˈpraɪ meɪt, ˈpraɪ mɪt /

noun

1. Ecclesiastical. an archbishop or bishop ranking first among the bishops of a province or country.

2. Anthropology, Zoology. any of various worldwide omnivorous mammals of the order Primates, comprising, by modern classification, two suborders, the strepsirrhines (lemurs, lorises, and their allies) and the haplorhines (tarsiers, New World monkeys, Old World monkeys, and apes, including humans), especially distinguished by the use of hands, varied locomotion, and complex behavior involving a high level of social interaction and cultural adaptability: many primates are strictly arboreal, but even among the numerous terrestrial species, some arboreal behavior is common.

3. Archaic. a chief or leader.

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primate ¹ British  

/ praɪˈmeɪʃəl, ˈpraɪmeɪt /

noun

1. any placental mammal of the order Primates, typically having flexible hands and feet with opposable first digits, good eyesight, and, in the higher apes, a highly developed brain: includes lemurs, lorises, monkeys, apes, and man

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the order Primates

primate ² British  

/ ˈpraɪmeɪt /

noun

1. another name for archbishop

2. the Archbishop of Canterbury

3. the Archbishop of York

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primate Scientific  

/ prī′māt′ /

1. Any of various mammals of the order Primates, having a highly developed brain, eyes facing forward, a shortened nose and muzzle, and opposable thumbs. Primates usually live in groups with complex social systems, and their high intelligence allows them to adapt their behavior successfully to different environments. Lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans are primates.

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Other Word Forms

• primatal adjective
• primatial adjective
• primatical adjective

Etymology

Origin of primate

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, Anglo-French, Old French primat “dignitary, religious leader, archbishop,” from Late Latin prīmāt- (stem of prīmās ), noun use of Latin prīmās “of first rank, principal, chief,” derivative of prīmus “first”; primate ( def. 2 ) taken as singular of New Latin Primātēs, name of the taxonomic order; -ate as if from the suffix -ate ; prime, Primates, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

The Fongoli females are the only documented animals in the world to regularly hunt with tools, fashioning branches into spears for killing smaller primates known as a bush babies.

From Barron's

Multiple monkeys are on the loose in St Louis, Missouri, sparking confusion and concern from the city's animal control officials, who said they do not know where the primates came from.

From BBC

Japanese media outlet Kyodo news reported that she once escaped with another primate - using a key to unlock her cage.

From BBC

A pair of twin mountain gorillas has been born in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo - a rare occurrence for the endangered primates, conservationists at Virunga National Park say.

From BBC

The new findings build on earlier work from Amato's lab, which showed that gut microbes from larger-brained primates produce more metabolic energy when transferred into mice.

From Science Daily