first among equals
English edit
Etymology edit
Calque of Latin primus inter pares.
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun edit
first among equals (plural firsts among equals)
- (idiomatic) A person or position that is formally of equal rank to others in a group, but nonetheless takes a leading role within that group.
- The Orthodox consider the bishop of Rome to have always been merely a first among equals.
- 2003, H. Y. Sharada Prasad, The Book I Won't be Writing and Other Essays, page 40:
- I wonder whether Margaret Thatcher, Harold Macmillan, Winston Churchill, Lloyd George, Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone (going back in time) thought of themselves as mere firsts among equals.
Translations edit
leading a group of equals
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