primus
noun
a bishop who is elected to represent the church body and to summon and preside at synods but who possesses no metropolitan power.
primus
1 American
[prahy-muhs]
/ ˈpraɪ məs /
noun
(often initial capital letter)
-
primuses
plural
primus
2
American
[prahy-muhs]
/ ˈpraɪ məs /
adjective
Primus
3
American
[pree-muhs]
/ ˈpri məs /
noun
Primus
1
British
/ ˈpraɪməs /
noun
primus
2
British
/ ˈpraɪməs /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of primus1
1855–60; < Medieval Latin prīmus, noun use of Latin adj.; see prime
Origin of primus2
1790–1800; < Latin prīmus; see prime
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Historically Pakistan always wanted to be seen as primus inter pares”—first among equals—“in the Muslim world,” says Farzana Shaikh, an expert on Pakistan at the British think tank Chatham House, in a phone interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
When the prime minister addresses the cabinet, not far away in 10 Downing Street, he is primus inter pares, first among equals, sitting among his or her ministers.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2025
The Nationalist military chieftains who elevated Francisco Franco to supreme power may initially have thought of their leader as a sort of primus inter pares, but this notion did not accord with Franco’s ideas.
From Slate ● Feb. 9, 2017
The invitation looks like a mistaken act of over-compensation, an effort to make sure the UK, an early backmarker, reverted to its traditional position of primus inter pares, the Special One.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 31, 2017
From somewhere in the depths of the car our mother unearths a primus stove, which she sets up on the kitchen floor, since there is no table.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
By the end of this year Primus will have more than double its battery capacity, to store more energy from the factory's solar panels.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
“They can’t make up for the loss of 7,000 staff with this method,” said Wendell Primus, visiting fellow at the Center on Health Policy at the Brookings Institution, an independent think tank.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 20, 2026
The contemporary, Earthly versions of the characters, played by Betty Buckley and Barry Primus at the start of their film, bicker on their way to their daughter’s gender reveal party.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2025
He played for three hours, hearing music from Suicidal Tendencies, Primus and others, but not his own — “Euro-Barge” was not included on the European release of the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2024
"Good master!" said a street urchin to Lord Primus.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
