preeminent
UK /pɹiːˈɛmɪnənt/ · US /priˈɛm ə nənt/ adjective
Forms præeminent pre-eminent
- adjective Exceeding others in quality or rank; of outstanding excellence, extremely notable or important.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French preeminent and its source, Latin praeēminēns, present participle of praeēmineō (“to stand out, excel”), from prae- (“pre-”) + ēmineō.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Eminent above others; prominent among those who are eminent; superior in excellence; surpassing, or taking precedence of, others; rarely, surpassing others in evil, or in bad qualities; as, preëminent in guilt.
Etymology [L. praeminens, -entis, p. pr. praeminere to be prominent, to surpass: cf. F. pré\'82minent. See Pre-, and Eminent.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “preeminent”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details