1855–60; < Medieval Latin prīmus, noun use of Latin adj.; see prime
1790–1800; < Latin prīmus; see prime
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Facile primus dixisse fertur, et a nullo negatur.
From Slate • Feb. 11, 2013
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
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.
