paramount

A chief or superior; (specifically, chiefly South Africa) an African chief having the highest status in a region; a paramount chief.

Adjective

  1. Highest, supreme; also, chief, leading, pre-eminent.
    • […]a Traitor Paramount; - 1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William...
    • Hitherto she had chiefly dwelt on her unkindness and neglect; but absence, like charity, covers a multitude of sins; and the thought now paramount was, that she should see her no more. - 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth]...
    • The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen. […] The second note, the high alarum, not so familiar and always important since it indicates the...

    Synonyms: utmost

    Antonyms: paravail

  2. Of the highest importance.
    • Getting those credit cards paid off is paramount.

    Synonyms: crucial imperative big central consequential critical epochful essential extraordinary fateful fatefraught fatesome heavy pivotal high on the totem pole historic innegligible key life-or-death meaningful necessary noted noticeable observable

    Antonyms: base contemptible floccinaucinihilipilificatious foolish for the birds futile frivolous idle ignorable immaterial inconsequential inconsiderable indifferent insignificant like a fart in a windstorm meager mean minor miserable negligible nothingburger nondescript null paltry

  3. Of a law, right, etc.: having precedence over or superior to another.

    Synonyms: crowning ferior foremost greater higher major paramount preeminent superior supreme utmost vaulting

Origin

PIE word *h₂éd From Anglo-Norman paramont /paramount (“paramount, pre-eminent; above”), from Old French par /per (“by”) + amont /amunt (“upward”). Par is derived from Latin per (“by means of, through”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through; to carry forth, fare”); amont and amunt are from Latin ad montem (“to the mountain; upward”), from ad (“up to”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“at; to”)) + montem (the accusative singular of mōns (“mount, mountain”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to stand out, tower”)).

Derived

lady paramount lord paramount paramount chief paramountcy paramountly paramountness paramountship paramount title

Noun

  1. A chief or superior; (specifically, chiefly South Africa) an African chief having the highest status in a region; a paramount chief.
  2. A supreme ruler; an overlord; (specifically, historical) in the feudal system, a landowner who did not derive ownership of the land from anyone else, and who was able to grant fees to others; a lord paramount.

Forms

paramounts

Derived

title paramount