primate Definition

primate
noun

1. zool.
Any member of an order of mammalian vertebrates which have a large brain, forward-facing eyes, nails instead of claws, and hands with grasping thumbs facing the other digits, eg a human, ape, etc.
Thesaurus: monkey, ape, gorilla, chimpanzee, orang-utan, gibbon, hominid, hominoid.
2. Christianity.
An archbishop.

Etymology: 13c: from Latin primas, primatis, from primus first.