1 any animal of the order Primates, the highest order of mammals, including tarsiers, lemurs, apes, monkeys, and man.
2 an archbishop.
Phrases and idioms:
Primate of All England the Archbishop of Canterbury. Primate of England the Archbishop of York.
Derivatives:
primatial adj. primatology n. (in sense 1).
Etymology: ME f. OF primat f. L primas -atis (adj.) of the first rank f. primus first, in med.L = primate
Useful english dictionary. 2012.