primato

Forms

primato m (plural primati)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin prīmātus (“first place, supremacy”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Wiktionary treats it as inherited.^[1] The Latin noun is prīmus (“first”) with the noun suffix -ātus.^[7][1] Devoto explained it as the abstract noun of an assumed verb *prīmāre (“to excel”), formed from the adjective.^[8] The adjective is a superlative built on Proto-Indo-European *pr(e)i (“before”), according to de Vaan.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Matteo Villani, before 1363, in the sense “absolute superiority of someone in a field”.^[10][5] He quotes Solomon: Se la moglie avrà il primato, diventerà contraria al suo marito (“If the wife has the upper hand, she will turn against her husband”).^[3][11]

Semantic evolution

It was used for pre-eminence in any field, as when Gilio says that Michelangelo, per il primato che tiene (“because of the primacy he holds”), is believed unable to err.^[3] In the language of the Church it names the supremacy of Peter among the apostles and of the pope among the bishops.^[5][12][11] Tommaseo lists the political, civil and moral primacy of a nation and a literary or philosophical primacy.^[11]

The sporting sense “record” is first recorded in 1929, in F. Corsi.^[10][13] It is now one of the main senses, with record as a synonym, and gives primatista “record holder”.^[2][13][1]

Timeline

• Before 1363 – Matteo Villani uses primato.^[10][5]
• 1929 – F. Corsi uses it for a sporting record.^[10][13]

Meanings

Noun

1. Recognised supremacy or pre-eminence of a person, group or nation in a field or activity: il primato industriale di una regione.^{[5][6][2][13][1]}
2. (Christianity) The supremacy given by Christ to Peter over the other apostles, and the primacy of the pope over the other bishops as his successor.^[5][12]
3. (sports) A record: the best result achieved in a sporting event under the rules: Ha migliorato il suo primato sui cinquemila metri.^[5][6][2][1]

Word family

• primatista

Related words

• primo
• primate
• Latin primatus

Usage notes

A tempo di primato means “in record time”.^[14] The Guinness dei primati is the Italian name of the Guinness Book of Records.^[5] An old primato was a variant of primate, an archbishop of the first rank, and also meant a leading citizen.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
4. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
9. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
10. ^ a b c d Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
11. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
13. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
14. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli