Etymograph

English

premier

Premier comes from Middle French premier, from Latin prīmārius ‘of the first rank’, from prīmus ‘first’, from Proto-Italic *prīsmos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preh₂-1‘before’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pri1‘before’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prīsmos2‘foremost’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīmus1‘first’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīmārius2‘one of the first’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400premier3‘first’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600premier2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1882premier2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin primarius
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English premier
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle French premier
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1882, Bernard Burke: “[…]dau. of Lord Forbes, Premier Baron of Scotland (the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*preh₂-Wiktionary, Latin primarius‘before’uncertain
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*priWiktionary, Latin primarius‘before’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prīsmosWiktionary, English premier‘foremost’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīmusWiktionary, Latin primarius‘first’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīmāriusWiktionary, English premier‘one of the first’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400premierWiktionary, Middle French premier‘first’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600premierWiktionary, English premier
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1882premierWiktionary, English premier. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1882, Bernard Burke: “[…]dau. of Lord Forbes, Premier Baron of Scotland (the…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with premier, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- ‘before, in front’

  • for ← *furi ← *furi ← *pr̥h₂-i
  • first ← fyrest ← *furist ← *furistaz ← *furai
  • forbid ← forbeden ← forbēodan ← *furibeudaną ← *furi
  • prestigious ← praestigiosus ← praestringō ← *prai- ← *prai
  • prairie ← praerie ← *prataria ← prātum
  • preface ← prefātia ← praefātiō ← praefor ← *prai-
  • prefix ← praefīxum ← praefīxus ← *prai- ← *prai
  • parasol ← parasole ← sole ← sōlem ← *sóh₂wl̥
  • parley ← parlai ← parler ← parabolō ← parabola
  • portobello ← pratarolo ← pratum
  • precede ← précéder ← praecēdō ← *prai- ← *prai
  • impregnate ← impraegnātus ← impraegnō ← praegnās ← *prai-

46 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from *preh₂- →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

adj Foremost; first or highest in quality or degree.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “premier”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin primarius, Middle French premier. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- / premier