Etymologically
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premier

Etymology and origin of the English word premier

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1448
Borrowed from
Middle French premier via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (primus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈprem.i.ə/, US /prɪˈmɪr/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English primer, primier,[2][3] borrowed from Middle French premier (“first, chief”),[4][2][3] from Latin prīmārius (“of the first rank, chief, principal”),[4][2][5] from prīmus “first”, the source of prime.[4] It is a doublet of primary.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

First in time, earliest: 1448 in Barnhart,[2] the mid-15th century in Etymonline.[4] It appears as a surname, Primer, in 1287.[2]

Semantic evolution

First in rank or importance is from before 1471 in Barnhart[2] and about 1470 in the OED.[6] The noun, the first minister of a state, is from 1711,[4][2][6] a shortening of premier minister (1686, in Evelyn's Diary), after French premier ministre.[2][5] It was used of the British prime minister from 1726,[6] of the chief minister of an Australian state or Canadian province from 1853,[6] and occasionally of the American Secretary of State in the late 19th century.[4][6]

Timeline

  • 1287 – as a surname.[2]
  • 1448 – first in time.[2]
  • c. 1470 – first in rank.[6]
  • 1686 – premier minister.[2]
  • 1711 – noun, a first minister.[2][6]
  • 1853 – the chief minister of a state or province.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. First in importance or rank; chief or leading.
  2. First in time; earliest.

Noun

  1. A prime minister.
  2. The head of government of a Canadian province or an Australian state.

Word family

  • premiership

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Premier.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/premier. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·