— primatal , adj. , n. — primatial /pruy may"sheuhl/ , primatical /pruy mat"i keuhl/ , adj.
/pruy"mayt/ or, esp. for 1, /pruy"mit/ , n.
1. Eccles. an archbishop or bishop ranking first among the bishops of a province or country.
2. any of various omnivorous mammals of the order Primates, comprising the three suborders Anthropoidea (humans, great apes, gibbons, Old World monkeys, and New World monkeys), Prosimii (lemurs, loris, and their allies), and Tarsioidea (tarsiers), esp. distinguished by the use of hands, varied locomotion, and by complex flexible behavior involving a high level of social interaction and cultural adaptability.
3. Archaic. a chief or leader.
[ 1175-1225; ME primat dignitary, religious leader primat- (s. of primas ), n. use of L primas of first rank, deriv. of primus first (see PRIME); (def. 2) taken as sing. of NL Primates PRIMATES, as if ending in -ATE 1 ]