paramount
/ˈpæɹəˌmaʊnt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.73 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Highest, supreme; also, chief, leading, pre-eminent.
adj
Of the highest importance.
noun
A chief or superior; (specifically, chiefly South Africa) an African chief having the highest status in a region; a paramount chief.
noun
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.
Obsolete
name
Example Sentences
- "[…]a Traitor Paramount;"
- "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."
- "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 paramount sin in Man's private calendar, took most of them by surprise although they had been well prepared."
- "Getting those credit cards paid off is paramount."
Etymology
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”)).
Origin
- Source language: Old French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpæɹəˌmaʊnt/
- British English: /ˈpæɹəmaʊnt/