answersLogoWhite

0

See what the Wikipedia article has to say at the link below. The term has specific use in a political or religious context.

In common use, it recognizes a person who is in some way distinguished among his or her peers while still acknowledging that they are on an equal footing. It is a diplomatic way of singling out a member of a group for some special quality (knowledge, skill, seniority, etc.) without saying that the rest of the group is inferior. The group would typically be related to that ability or skill and not, say, a social or racial group. For example, in a group of software engineers all working on encryption, there might be one whose knowledge is deeper and whose technical proficiency is greater than that of his peers so that the others might turn to him as an authority even though he does not outrank them. That person might be referred to as "first among equals."

User Avatar

Wiki User

17y ago

What else can I help you with?