1. The state of being first or foremost.
2. Ecclesiastical. The office, rank, or province of primate.

[Middle English primacie, from Old French, from Medieval Latin prīmātia, office of church primate, from Latin prīmās, prīmāt-, of first rank. See primate.]

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.