paramount

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpæɹəˌmaʊnt/ UK /ˈpæɹəmaʊnt/ See IPA manual

adj noun name Freq #16578

Meanings

1

adj
More important than anything else; supreme.

The safety of the passengers is paramount.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · more important than... central crucial essential supremeoverriding

Word family

Derived forms paramountcyparamountlyparamountnessparamountship

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”)).

*per- Proto-Indo-European paramont//paramount xno par//per Old French per Middle English ad montem Latin *h₂éd Proto-Indo-European *men- Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Describing Qualities

# paramount

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj, noun, name
**IPA (US):** ˈpæɹəˌmaʊnt
**IPA (UK):** ˈpæɹəmaʊnt
**Frequency rank:** 16578

## Meanings
1. More important than anything else; supreme.

## Examples
- The safety of the passengers is paramount.

## Derived Forms
- paramountcy
- paramountly
- paramountness
- paramountship

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *per-
- Root: paramont//paramount
- Root: par//per
- Root: per
- Root: ad montem
- Root: *h₂éd
- Root: *men-

## 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”)).

## AI Etymology
Paramount is 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”)). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include *per- (Proto-Indo-European), paramont//paramount (xno), par//per (Old French), per (Latin), ad montem (Latin), and *h₂éd (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include more important than anything else; supreme. The wider family includes derived forms such as paramountcy, paramountly, paramountness, and paramountship.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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