prima

See also: Prima, primá, príma, primă, and přímá

English

Etymology

Derived from Italian prima, from Latin prīma.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹiːmə/
• Rhymes: -iːmə

Adjective

prima (not comparable)

1. most important

Related terms

• alla prima
• prima ballerina
• prima donna
• prima faciality
• prima facie
• prima materia

Translations

most important

• Finnish: tärkein (fi)

Anagrams

• Pamir, Priam

Asturian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɾima/ [ˈpɾi.ma]

Noun

prima f (plural primes)

1. cousin, female equivalent of primu

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈpɾi.mə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈpɾi.ma]
• Rhymes: -ima

Noun

prima f (plural primes)

1. premium (a bonus paid in addition to normal payments)

Adjective

prima

1. feminine singular of prim

Further reading

• “prima” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “prima”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “prima” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “prima” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈprɪma]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

prima (indeclinable)

1. (informal) nice, great

Interjection

prima

1. nice

Related terms

• primární
• primář
• primářka
• primátor
• primátorka

Further reading

• “prima”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “prima”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch

Alternative forms

• (informal, slang) priem

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian prima (“first, best”), which together with secunda and tertia denoted the three classes of wares. The latter two fell out of use, but prima stayed, although with a changed meaning.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈprimaː/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

prima (not comparable)

1. excellent

   Dat is een prima wijntje.

   That's an excellent wine.

2. (informal) OK, satisfactory, reasonably good; not exceptional

   De wijn was prima, hoor.

   The wine was all right.

Adverb

prima (not comparable)

1. good, fine

   Ik vind het helemaal prima.

   That's completely fine with me.

Franco-Provençal

Adjective

prima

1. feminine singular of prim

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

prima

1. third-person singular past historic of primer

Anagrams

• parmi
• Priam

Galician

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish prima

Noun

prima f (plural primas)

1. female equivalent of primo (“cousin”)

   Synonym: curmá

Related terms

• primo

Etymology 2

Noun

prima f (plural primas)

1. bonus

Etymology 3

Verb

prima

1. inflection of primar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian prima.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpʁiːma]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

prima (strong nominative masculine singular primaer, not comparable)

1. (colloquial) great, super

   Synonyms: toll, klasse, schnieke

Further reading

• “prima” in Duden online
• “prima” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Indonesian

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch prima and priem, ultimately from Latin primus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpri.ma/
• Rhymes: -ma
• Hyphenation: pri‧ma

Adjective

prima

1. prime:
   1. first
   2. (mathematics) having exactly two integral factors: itself and unity (1 in the case of integers).
2. prima

Further reading

• “prima” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Alternative forms

• 1ª (abbreviation)

Etymology

See primo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpri.ma/
• Rhymes: -ima
• Hyphenation: prì‧ma

Adjective

prima f

1. feminine singular of primo

Adverb

prima

1. before

   Antonym: dopo

   Pensa prima di parlare. ― Think before you speak.

2. once, formerly
3. beforehand, in advance
4. earlier, sooner

Noun

prima f (plural prime)

1. the first
2. an opening night; a premier
3. the first year at school

Related terms

• di prima
• il prima possibile
• prima del tempo
• prima di tutto
• primadonna
• prima o poi
• primatista
• primato
• quanto prima

Descendants

• Norwegian Bokmål: prima

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

Derived from Portuguese prima.

Noun

prima

1. cousin (daughter of the uncle)

Ladin

Adjective

prima

1. feminine singular of prim

Ladino

Pronunciation

• Audio (Paris):

  (file)

Adjective

prima (Hebrew spelling פרימה)

1. feminine singular of primo
   • 2006, Matilda Koén-Sarano, Por el plazer de kontar‎^[1], page 433:

     Fue la prima i únika vez ke vidi en Israel una piesa dada a livel enternasional.

     It was the first and only time that I saw a play in Israel given on [an] international level.

Noun

prima f (Hebrew spelling פרימה)

1. female equivalent of primo (“cousin”)
   • 1996, Sara Benveniste Benrey, edited by Yossi Benbenisty, Espertando el djudeo espanyol: poemas realidas i philosophia, kantes, sketches, piesas de teatro‎^[2], Yossi Benbenisty, page 291:

     Bella — Oh Dio! El es mi padre!
     Rivka — I el marido de mi prima. Ya me alegri muncho, es un buen ombre i mos keremos muncho bien, por siguro ke ya te va mirar komo un ijo suyo.

     Bella — Oh God! He’s my father!
     Rivka — And my cousin’s husband. Now he really pleased me; he is a good man and we love each other very much, definitely now that he is going to see you like his child.

Verb

prima (Hebrew spelling פרימה)

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of premir
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of premir
3. third-person singular present indicative of primar
4. second-person singular imperative of primar

Latin

Numeral

prīma

1. inflection of prīmus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Numeral

prīmā

1. ablative feminine singular of prīmus

   prīmā lūce ― at first light, at daybreak

References

• "prima", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• prima in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[3], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • at daybreak: prima luce
    
  • from one's entry into civil life: ab ineunte (prima) aetate (De Or. 1. 21. 97)
    
  • to teach children the rudiments: pueros elementa (prima) docere
    
  • premises; consequences: prima (superiora); consequentia (Fin. 4. 19. 54)
    

Lombard

Etymology

Inherited from Latin prīma.

Pronunciation

• (Old Lombard) IPA^(key): [ˈpɾima]

Adjective

prima f (masculine primo)

1. (Old Lombard) the first
   • 1274, Bonvesin de la Riva, Libro de Tre Scrigiure:

     La prima sì è negra e è de grand pagura

     The first is black and instills great fear

Descendants

• Lombard: primma

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Derived from Italian prima (“before, once, at first, earlier”), feminine singular of primo (“first, initial, main”), from Latin prīmus (“first”), from earlier prīsmos, from Proto-Italic *priisemos (“foremost, first”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (“before, in front”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpriːma/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːma
• Hyphenation: pri‧ma

Adverb

prima

1. Only used in a prima vista (“sight-read”)

Anagrams

• rimpa

Occitan

Etymology

Shortened from Old Occitan primavera, from Late Latin prīma vēra (“early spring”). Cf. the unshortened Gascon form primavèra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpʁi.mɒ], [ˈpri.mɒ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

prima f (plural primas)

1. spring (seasons)

See also

Seasons in Occitan · sasons (layout · text) · category
prima (“spring”)	estiu (“summer”)	auton (“autumn”)	ivèrn (“winter”)

Old Galician-Portuguese

Adjective

prima

1. feminine singular of primo

Noun

prima

1. female equivalent of primo (“cousin”)
2. (Christianity) First canonical hour.

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “prima”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Old Spanish

Adjective

prima

1. feminine singular of primo

Noun

prima

1. female equivalent of primo (“cousin”)
2. (Christianity) First canonical hour.

References

• Ralph Steele Boggs et al. (1946) “prima”, in Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, volume II, Chapel Hill, page 409

Papiamentu

Etymology

Derived from Portuguese prima and Spanish prima and Kabuverdianu prima.

Noun

prima

1. cousin (daughter of the uncle)

Piedmontese

Etymology

From Late Latin prīma vēra (“early spring”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpri.mɐ]

Noun

prima f

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 311: “la primavera” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese prima, from Latin prīma, feminine of prīmus (“first”), from Proto-Indo-European *per-.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɾĩ.mɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɾĩ.mɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈpɾi.ma/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈpɾi.mɐ/

Noun

prima f (plural primas)

1. female equivalent of primo (“female cousin”)
2. (music) an instrument’s thinnest string
3. (Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy) the first canonical hour

Descendants

• → Hunsrik: Prim

Adjective

prima m or f (plural primas, not comparable)

1. (of birds of prey) female

   Açor-prima.

   Female goshawk.

Related terms

• obra prima
• matéria-prima
• primário
• primeiro
• primo

Etymology 2

Verb

prima

1. inflection of premir:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Romanian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from French primer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /priˈma/

Verb

a prima (third-person singular present primează, past participle primat) 1st conjugation

1. to prevail, to take precedent
   • 1991 June, Ion Ciocanu, “Poezia lui Vladimir Cavarnali [Poetry of Vladimir Cavarnali]”, in Limba română [Romanian language], number 2, Chișinău, page 108:

     Cavarnali a cultivat o poezie de atmosferă, profund interiorizată, în care primează stările sufletești ale personajului liric.

     Cavarnali cultivated an atmospheric, profoundly internalised poetry, in which prevail the states of mind of the lyrical character.

Conjugation

    conjugation of prima (first conjugation, -ez- infix)

infinitive			a prima
gerund			primând
past participle			primat
number		singular			plural
person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	primez	primezi	primează	primăm	primați	primează
	imperfect	primam	primai	prima	primam	primați	primau
	simple perfect	primai	primași	primă	primarăm	primarăți	primară
	pluperfect	primasem	primaseși	primase	primaserăm	primaserăți	primaseră
subjunctive		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	să primez	să primezi	să primeze	să primăm	să primați	să primeze
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		primează			primați
	negative		nu prima			nu primați

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpri.ma/

Adjective

prima

1. definite nominative/accusative feminine singular of prim

Further reading

• prima in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian prima.

Noun

prima f (Cyrillic spelling прима)

1. (music) unison

Further reading

• “prima”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
• “prima”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

prima (Cyrillic spelling прима)

1. third-person singular present of primati

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɾima/ [ˈpɾi.ma]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ima
• Syllabification: pri‧ma

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin prīma.

Noun

prima f (plural primas, masculine primo, masculine plural primos)

1. female equivalent of primo (“female cousin”)

Hyponyms

• prima cuarta
• prima hermana
• prima quinta
• prima segunda
• prima tercera

Etymology 2

From primo.

Noun

prima f (plural primas)

1. bonus

   Synonyms: bonificación, bono, premio

2. premium (amount to be paid for an insurance policy)
3. (music) the highest-pitched string on a string instrument
   • 1888, Eduardo Acevedo Díaz, Ismael‎^[4], Buenos Aires: La Tribuna Nacional:

     Oíase como un ruido de alborozo en la enramada, donde un cantor unía las notas de su voz bronca a las de la prima y la bordona, atrayendo al sitio algunas mozas de trenza y pollera corta, y no pocas comadres de edad madura.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• cazaprimas
• prima de riesgo

Adjective

prima f

1. feminine singular of primo

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

prima

1. inflection of premir:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative
2. inflection of primar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “primo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin prima, from Latin primus (“first”).

Adjective

prima (not inflected)

1. excellent; top quality

Anagrams

• impar