paramount English · revision 39968

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1530|origins=la per, la ad, la mōns}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈpæɹəmaʊnt/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈpæɹəˌmaʊnt/, /ˈpɛɹəˌmaʊnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|xno|paramont|t=above; pre-eminent]], also ''paramount'',^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(AND) an adjective use of an adverb meaning "above" in place, order or degree,^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) formed from [[m|fro|par|t=by]], from [[m|la|per|t=through, by]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) and [[m|fro|amont|t=up, above]], from [[m|fro|a mont|t=upward]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) [[der|la|ad montem|t=to the mountain]], the phrase that also gave [[amount]].^(Ayto 2005)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(Collins 2023)^(Skeat 1911) Etymonline and Skeat compare the Latin phrase [[m|la|per ad montem]].^(Etymonline)^(Skeat 1911) The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from the late 12th century,^(AND) and the OED compares [[m|xno|seigneur paramont]], recorded in 1339, as the model of the English phrase “lord paramount”.^(OED 2026) Weekley contrasts the obsolete legal term paravail, from [[m|fro|aval|t=downhill]].^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of a person or people, highest in rank, power or jurisdiction: 1530, in St German's ''Doctor and Student'';^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) Barnhart dates the word 1531.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Barnhart 1988) The Oxford Dictionary of English notes that the earliest uses are in the phrases ''lord paramount'' and ''paramount chief''.^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense of being superior to all others in influence or importance is first found, according to Barnhart, in Bacon in 1596;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED records the construction with ''to'' over 1625–1896, now obsolete.^(OED 2026) The modern sense, of supreme or overriding importance, mostly used after a verb ("safety is paramount"), dates from 1654.^(OED 2026) As a noun the word meant an overlord or ''lord paramount'' from 1616,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) and in South Africa it is still used for a paramount chief, a sense recorded from 1844.^(OED 2026) Johnson (1755) defined it as "superiour; having the highest jurisdiction".^(Johnson 1755) A verb, to rise to the highest position, is recorded only in 1699.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1530 – of a person or nation, supreme in rank or power.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1579 – ''lord paramount'', an overlord.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1596 – superior to all others in importance, in Bacon.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1616 – noun, an overlord.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1647 – a woman in supreme authority.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1654 – of supreme or overriding importance.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1844 – a chief of the highest rank in southern Africa.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # More important than anything else; [[supreme]]: ''For the pilots, safety is paramount.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # Highest in rank, power or [[authority]]: ''the paramount ruler of the region''.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # (rare) A supreme ruler; an [[overlord]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[paramountcy]]

+ * [[paramountly]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[amount]]

+ * [[mount]]

+ * [[mountain]]

+ * [[tantamount]]

+ * [[surmount]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}