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Definition of primate noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

  1.  
    /ˈpraɪmeɪt/
     
    /ˈpraɪmeɪt/
     any animal that belongs to the group of mammals that includes humans, apes and monkeysTopics Animalsc1
  2.  
    /ˈpraɪmət/,
     
    /ˈpraɪmeɪt/
     
    /ˈpraɪmət/,
     
    /ˈpraɪmeɪt/
     an archbishop (= a priest of very high rank in the Christian Church)
    • the Primate of all England (= the Archbishop of Canterbury)
    Topics Religion and festivalsc2
    3. Word Originsense 2 Middle English: from Old French primat, from Latin primas, primat- ‘of the first rank’, from primus ‘first’.sense 1 late 19th cent.: from Latin primas, primat- ‘of the first rank’, from primus ‘first’.
See primate in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: primate

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