first among equals
2
7.3
- idiom
- Formal
:
primus inter pares
- In the likely New World Order, the balance of power system will be global and America will be first among equals.
But The Beatles are first among equals, OK, Because they always stayed ahead of the audience.
- But The Beatles are first among equals, OK, Because they always stayed ahead of the audience.
- It would apply to people in, in families where one person is kind of first among equals, perhaps not even among equals.
Examples
-
He is the first among equals, and he will be the face of the country.
Blog text (2) -
But if the recognition of American leadership by all other states is unlikely, everything will depend on the behavior of the United States: whether it will try to establish its position by force or instead demonstrate its readiness to become the first among equals.
Academic text (2010) -
But as far as one can see clearly into the future, the dollar will remain first among equals.
Academic text (2009) -
As the first among equals, he had to share power with other senior statesmen.
Academic text (1998) -
It was this combination of empire and navy that made Britain first among equals in the European balance of power system.
Academic text (1996) -
In a White House where foreign policy is made, to an extraordinary extent, by the president and a few close advisors, Biden is first among equals.
Blog text (32) -
The role of the department chair in the community college setting has been compared to that of the speaker of the house (Miller, 1999) — a person who is simply first among equals in the governance of the college and of the department.
Academic text (2002) -
Jiang, who holds two critical Party positions (general secretary and Central Military Commission chairman) as well as the presidency, has grown in stature as the "first among equals."
Academic text (1997) -
The institutions of the transatlantic community were built on the idea of great-power cooperation, a "concert of power," in Wilson's phrase, with America the superpower as first among equals.
Academic text (2002) -
As the new team leader, she quickly became known as the first among equals, inspiring her coworkers to collaborate effectively.
Synonyms
436
1.7
The first and most important person or thing in a list
343
2.1
The top position in a competition or race
7
1.0
A person or thing that comes before others in order
3
4.6
The most important position with the highest priority
A person who is better than all others in a group
How Important
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning can be directly derived by combining 'first' (most prominent) with 'among equals' (within a group of people of equal status), so it denotes the most prominent member of a group where members are otherwise equal. The composition is literal and straightforward and has clear parallels in other languages (e.g. Latin 'primus inter pares'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
First among equals comes from the image of a group where everyone is on the same level but one person stands just a little in front to lead, so they are first while still an equal. So it means 'the most important member of a group who is still treated as equal to the others'.