primatia

Forms

prīmātia f (genitive prīmātiae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin prīmās (“of the first rank; primate”) + -ia,^[2] a Medieval Latin word that Köbler connects with prīmātus (“first place, primacy”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is Medieval Latin;^[1] Köbler, following Latham, dates its first record to about 1180.^[1] The DMLBS cites it from William of Canterbury’s Life of Thomas, for the height of primacy that a bishop of London had aspired to.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It names the office, rank or authority of a primate: in British sources often the rival claims of Canterbury and York, and also those of St Andrews and Armagh.^[2] Du Cange glosses it as the dignity of a primate, French primatie,^[3] and in Poland it was the primacy of the archbishop of Gniezno.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1180 – Köbler dates its first record to about this year.^[1]
• 1226 – The register of St Osmund records Lyon’s claim to primacy over Sens, Rouen, Bourges, Bordeaux and other provinces.^[2]
• 1518 – A Polish record has the archbishop of Gniezno visiting the bishop of Vilnius by right of primacy.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, ecclesiastical) The office, dignity or authority of a primate; primacy.^[2][3][1]

Related words

• prīmās

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
2. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
4. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl