1. First in status or importance; principal or chief: an architect of premier rank.
2. First to occur or exist; earliest.

1. A prime minister.
2. A chief administrative officer, as of a Canadian province.

[Middle English primier, from Old French, from Latin prīmārius, from prīmus, first.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.