# paramount
## English
### 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”)).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈpæɹəmaʊnt/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (General American, without the Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA: /ˈpæɹəˌmaʊnt/
* (General American, Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA: /ˈpɛɹəˌmaʊnt/
* Hyphenation: par‧a‧mount

### Adjective

paramount (not comparable)
* (often postpositive) Highest, supreme; also, chief, leading, pre-eminent.
    Synonym: utmost
    Antonyms: paravail, (of a feudal tenant) [Term?]
** 1622, Francis, Lord Verulam, Viscount St. Alban [i.e. Francis Bacon], The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh, […], London: […] W[illiam] Stansby for Matthew Lownes, and William Barret, →OCLC, page 68:[…] a Traitor Paramount;
** 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIV, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 168: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.
** 1963, Margery Allingham, “Eye Witness”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 249: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.
* Of the highest importance.
    Synonyms: crucial, imperative; see also Thesaurus:important
    Antonyms: see Thesaurus:insignificant
    Getting those credit cards paid off is paramount.
* (obsolete) Of a law, right, etc.: having precedence over or superior to another.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:superior

#### Derived terms

* lady paramount
* lord paramount
* paramount chief
* paramountcy
* paramountly
* paramountness
* paramountship
* paramount title

#### Translations
### Noun

paramount (plural paramounts)
* A chief or superior; (specifically, chiefly South Africa) an African chief having the highest status in a region; a paramount chief.
* (obsolete) 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.

#### Derived terms

* title paramount

#### Translations
### References

* ↑ “paramount, adj., n., and adv.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2020; “paramount$^1$, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
* ↑ Compare “per, prep.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2020; “per, prep.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
* ↑ Compare “amount, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2020; “amount, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

### Further reading

* paramount (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* “paramount”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
* “paramount”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* “paramount”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

### Anagrams

* paranotum