# primacy

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpɹaɪ.mə.si/ · frequency rank #33,801

## Definitions
1. The state or condition of being prime or first, as in time, place, rank, etc.
2. Excellence; supremacy.
3. The office, rank, or character of a primate, it being the chief ecclesiastical station or dignity in a national church.
4. The office or dignity of an archbishop.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **primal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primacy-vs-primal)
- **primary** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primacy-vs-primary)
- **privacy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primacy-vs-privacy)
- **primate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/primacy-vs-primate)
- **prima** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/prima-vs-primacy)
- **piracy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/piracy-vs-primacy)

## Common misspellings (11)
`pirmacy`, `pprimacy`, `priamcy`, `primaccy`, `primacyy`, `primayc`, `primcay`, `primmacy`, `prmiacy`, `prrimacy`, `rpimacy`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/primacy