prim-, primi-, primo-

Translation: "From first to last."

Translation: "Christ holding the first place."

Motto of Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California, USA.

"Holding Christ preeminent", "Christ preeminent in all things", and "Christ pre-eminent in all things".

1. An official permission to publish or to print something; especially, when some kind of censorship or restriction applies: The news article about the government's decision to increase income taxes had the imprimatur of the office of the prime minister, the elected leader of government.
2. A person's guarantee or acceptance that something meets a good standard: The contents of the web site had the imprimatur of reliability and accuracy.
3. Etymology: from Latin "let it be printed" from the verb imprimere, "to mark" or "to engrave".

1. An initial stain of color that is applied as a base color of a picture upon which the painter adds other layers of paint: An imprimatura gives an artist a background to add transparent paints so the light that shines on the first paint will reflect through the added layers of paint.
2. Etymology: from Italian imprimatura, "first paint layer".

1. A reference to the placement or order of time for completing something before anything else is accomplished: When the lawyer wrote Mark's will, she indicated imprimis that all outstanding bills be paid before any other disbursement of funds.
2. Etymology: a contraction of the Latin phrase in primis, "among the first"; from in, "among" and primus, "first".

Imprimis was originally used to introduce the first of a number of articles in a list; such as, a will, an inventory, etc.

Translation: "First to learn the nature of things."

Another version is "Above all to find out the way things are." A motto of the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

A title to indicate the rank of a head of a level of government in some countries; such as, Canada: The ten premiers met to discuss inter-provincial trade agreements.

Descriptive of something that is the first to occur or to exist; ahead of others: Red Winged Blackbirds are the premier sign of spring in Julian's neighborhood because they return to nest before any other birds do.

Tiffany was a premier computer expert in her company.

A descriptive term to indicate the most important or leading dancer in a ballet troupe: Kathryn practiced diligently because she wanted to become a prima ballerina in the local group of professional performers.

1. The lead or most important female singer in a musical production; such as, an opera: The popular prima donna was rehearsing for the new opera which was to be staged during the summer Opera Festival.
2. A temperamental individual, not necessarily associated with theater, who expects special or exceptional treatment from her colleagues: When Jim was working, he noticed that the office prima donna frequently called in sick on Mondays and she would frequently go home early on Fridays.

Calling someone a prima donna is not an insult if you're talking about an actual opera star; however, if anyone else is called a prima donna it usually means he or she is terribly vain, self centered, or egotistical and such a person may demand special privileges.

3. Etymology: from Italian; literally, "first lady"; from Latin prima (feminine), "first" + domina, "lady".

1. At first consideration before there has been time for inquiry or examination; at first glance; apparent; self-evident: When the police were called to the scene of the accident, their prima facie conclusion was that the car had slid on the ice and crashed into the tree.
2. On the face of it; so far as can be judged from the first disclosure; a fact presumed to be true unless proven by some evidence to the contrary: The chief counsel at court indicated that there was prima facie evidence that Sam, the witness, committed perjury during his testimony.

1. The state of leadership, dominance, or priority among considerations: The primacy of the automobile over horse and buggy conveyances was initially questioned, but it soon became an accepted fact.
2. A condition of being the most important or the strongest: It is now obvious that civil laws have taken primacy over religious laws.

Shirley has established primacy in her occupation as a computer expert.

1. Descriptive of that which is original, of chief importance, or basic: Professor Lawson's primal research project was to investigate the flight patterns of mosquitoes.
2. Used especially to indicate feelings that are like those of animals and which seem to come from a part of human nature that existed in ancient times: The primal impulses to compete with others for better living conditions than our fellow humans seems to have been going on for centuries.

1. Relating to that which is essential or basic to an activity: Hank's research projects dealt primarily with the investigation of the sleeping habits of desert toads.
2. Used to indicate the main purpose for doing something or the reason for doing it: Primarily the purpose of creating a different kind of dictionary for easier comprehension is to provide better understanding of what words mean and how they are used in context.

1. Descriptive of or related to that which is first in a list or is the earliest in a sequence: Tim and Jordan just started their primary training for snow boarding.
2. Something that is not coming from or is not dependent on anything else: The contents of the book is based on primary sources instead of secondary sources of information.
3. A reference to the most important thing: Good health is the primary concern of Brenda for her two sons, Dirk and Gary.