primus

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to: navigation, search

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin, meaning "the first".

Noun[edit]

primus

  1. One of the bishops of the Episcopal Church of Scotland, who presides at the meetings of the bishops, and has certain privileges but no metropolitan authority.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Internat. Cyc to this entry?)

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Latin[edit]

Latin ordinal numbers
  1st 2nd  > 
    Ordinal : prīmus
    Cardinal : unus
    Adverbial : semel
    Multiplier : simplex
    Distributive : singulī

Etymology[edit]

From prior (“earlier, in front”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

prīmus m (feminine prīma, neuter prīmum); first/second declension

  1. (ordinal) first

Usage notes[edit]

It is the superlative degree of an adjective with only comparative (prior, prior, prius) and superlative degrees without a positive degree. It stems from the preposition pre. In the same way for post, one has posterior and postremus.

Inflection[edit]

First/second declension.

Number Singular Plural
Case \ Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
nominative prīmus prīma prīmum prīmī prīmae prīma
genitive prīmī prīmae prīmī prīmōrum prīmārum prīmōrum
dative prīmō prīmae prīmō prīmīs prīmīs prīmīs
accusative prīmum prīmam prīmum prīmōs prīmās prīma
ablative prīmō prīmā prīmō prīmīs prīmīs prīmīs
vocative prīme prīma prīmum prīmī prīmae prīma

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  • Michiel de Vaan (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden, Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, page 488
Retrieved from "http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=primus&oldid=26303083"