Late Middle English; earliest use found in John Lydgate (c1370–c1449), poet and prior of Hatfield Regis. From post-classical Latin primicerius the first among those holding a similar office from classical Latin prīmus + cēra wax + -ius, suffix forming adjectives, with reference to the wax-coated tablets on which the names of office-holders were inscribed. In some forms after French primicier senior ecclesiastical dignitary.