| 释义 |
▪ I. primate, n.1 (a.)|ˈpraɪmət|
Forms: 3–7 primat, 4–5 prymat(e, 5 premate, 4– primate.
[= F. primat (12th c. in Littré), ad. late L. prīmās, -ātem adj. (Apul.), of the first rank, chief, excellent, in med.L. n. a primate; f. prīmus first.]
A. n.
1. One who is first in rank or importance; a chief, head, superior, leader. Now rare.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1570 He schal be prymate & prynce of pure clergye. 1382Wyclif Micah v. 5 We shuln reyse on hym seuen sheperdis, and eiȝt primatis [gloss or first men in dignyte]. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 325 Þis preost was primat [L. sacerdos iste primas fuit] in þat lond of Madyan. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 21 Byrdes besely syngynge..Praysynge theyr prymate all that they may. 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Mark v. 32 Although he were a ruler of the Synagoge, that is, a primate among stately felowes. 1581Mulcaster Positions xxxix. (1887) 197 The prince which is the primate and pearle of nobilitie. 1683Brit. Spec. 30 They [Druids] were subject to two Primates; one of which..had his Residence in the Isle of Man; the other..in Anglesey. 1866Reader 28 July 676 Man is a primate in his particular locality—that of intelligence and thought; but fish and birds are equally primates in their peculiar stations.
2. Eccl. An archbishop, or formerly sometimes a bishop, holding the first place among the bishops of a province; also applied to a patriarch or exarch of the Eastern Church.
In England both the archbishops are primates, the archbishop of Canterbury being entitled ‘primate of all England’, and the archbishop of York ‘primate of England’; so, the archbishop of Armagh is ‘primate of all Ireland’, the archbishop of Dublin ‘primate of Ireland’; before the Reformation, the archbishop of St. Andrews was (from 1487) primate of Scotland; but on the continent, there are primates having archbishops under them; in France there were formerly three primates, the archbishops of Lyons, Bourges, and Rouen.
c1205Lay. 29736 He [Austin] was icleopped legat, of þissen londe he wæs primat. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 73 Þe archbissop Stigand, of Inglond primate, Þat tyme was suspended, þe pape reft him þe state. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 115 But now beeþ but tweie primates in al Engelond, of Caunterbury, and of Ȝork. 1427Rolls of Parlt. IV. 322/2 The Archebisshopp of Canterbury and Primat of al this land. 1451J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. 43 This bischop of Cartage was premate þorw all Affrik, þan was þere anoþir bischop premate of al Numidie. c1460Oseney Reg. 98 Walter, By þe grace of god Archiebisshop of Ȝorke, a primat of Ingelonde. 1552Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 1 Legatnait and primat of the kirk of Scotland. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 23 It hath one primate, and two Archbishopricks, Armach and Cassels. 1709J. Johnson Clergym. Vade M. ii. 160 (African Code, A.D. 418) Let not any number of Bishops presume to ordain another without the leave of the Primate. 1726Ayliffe Parergon 90 Tho' an Archbishop be superiour to all the Bishops of his Province; yet, according to the Canon Law he is inferiour to a Primate. 1756Nugent Gr. Tour, France IV. 158 The archbishop [of Lyons] is primate of Gaul, and has 48,000 livres a year. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) IV. 62 He [Archbp. of Venice] is primate of Dalmatia, metropolitan of the archbishops of Candia and Corfu, as also of the bishops of Chiozza and Tercello. 1833Tracts for Times No. 15. 6 These Patriarchs..were the Primates or Head Bishops of their respective Patriarchates. 1889Whitaker's Alm. 239 Colonial Bishops... Sydney. Alf. Barry, D.D. Primate of Australia and Metropolitan New South Wales. 1896Dict. Nat. Biog. LVI. 281/2 On 22 Feb. 1354..the pope..directed that York should be styled primate of England, and Canterbury primate of All England.
3. Name of a variety of pear. ? Obs.
1664Evelyn Kal. Hort., July 70 Pears. The Primat, Russet-pears, Summer-pears [etc.]. 1707Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 375.
4. Zool. (Usually with pronunciation |ˈpraɪmeɪt|.) A mammal belonging to the order Primates, which includes man, apes, monkeys, and several groups of prosimians. Also attrib.
1899J. Fiske Through Nat. to God ii. v. 83 Forthwith..she [natural selection] invested all her capital in the psychical variations of this favoured primate. 1898Westm. Gaz. 26 Aug. 8/2 It was a fixed fact that man is a member of the primate order. 1906E. Ingersoll Life of Animals 7 The higher the Primate in the scale of organization the more perfectly are its fore limbs and hands adapted to seizing and handling objects. 1929R. M. & A. W. Yerkes Great Apes i. 2/1 No infrahuman primate, least of all the great ape, has been thoroughly domesticated. 1967J. R. & P. H. Napier Handbk. Living Primates p. v, Animal behaviour, ecology and genetic biology..today dominate basic research trends in primate biology. 1977Rainier III & Bourne Primate Conservation p. xviii, All authors of this book agreed that the royalties earned should be used to further primate conservation.
†B. adj. First, earliest. Obs. rare.
1554–9Songs & Ball. (1860) 5 The gates infernall, Wheryn ower primat parent had closyd us. 1580Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Premier, first or primate.
▪ II. † primate, n.2 Obs.
[= OF. primat (15th c. in Godef.), ad. L. prīmātus (u-stem) the first place, preference, pre-eminence, primacy.]
1. Chief place, primacy.
a1340Hampole Psalter xxiii. 6 Þat god gif þaim þe primate in blisse. 1432–50tr. Higden (Rolls) II. 273 After that..Cesares, emperoures, and men callede Augusti holdede the primate and chiefe place [L. primatum tenuerunt].
2. A first or chief point or article. rare—1.
1592Warner Alb. Eng. ix. lii. (1612) 235 Gods Cou'nant with the Patriarchs..is a Primate of our Creede. |