primacy
/ˈpɹaɪ.mə.si/noun
primacy is spelled P-R-I-M-A-C-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, primacy means “The state or condition of being prime or first, as in time, place, rank, preference etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of primacy is primacies.
How many letters and syllables are in primacy?
| Letters | 7: P-R-I-M-A-C-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is primacy?
Primacy appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce primacy?
- UK /ˈpɹaɪ.mə.si/
- UK /ˈpɹɪ.mə.si/
- US /ˈpɹaɪ.mə.si/
Primacy has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-primacy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of primacy
- primacies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does primacy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state or condition of being prime or first, as in time, place, rank, preference etc.
establish the primacy of something
- 2
archaicExcellence; supremacy.
- 3
The office, rank, or character of a primate (chief ecclesiastical dignity in a church).
- 4
The office or dignity of an archbishop.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Primacy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | primauté |
| German | Primat, Vorrang , Primas |
| Portuguese | primado, primazia |
| Spanish | primacía |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does primacy come from?
From Old French primacie, from Medieval Latin primatia (“office of a church primate”), from Latin primas plus a suffix corresponding to -acy. By surface analysis, prime + -acy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).