PREMIER

premier, premiere

(adjective) preceding all others in time; “the premiere showing”

chancellor, premier, prime minister

(noun) the person who is head of government (in several countries)

premier, premiere

(verb) perform a work for the first time

premier, premiere

(verb) be performed for the first time; “We premiered the opera of the young composer and it was a critical success”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

premier (not comparable)

Foremost; first or highest in quality or degree.

(heraldry) Most ancient.

Noun

premier (plural premiers)

(politics, UK, Westminster system) The head of government in parliament and leader of the cabinet.

(politics, UK parliament) The prime minister.

(politics, Australia, Canada, South Africa) The leader of a state or provincial government and cabinet.

(politics, non-Westminster) The government leader in a legislative congress or leader of a government-level administrative body; the head of government.

(nautical, slang) The first lieutenant or other second-in-command officer of a ship.

(Australia, sporting) The champion team of a particular season (especially as used in Australian rules football).

Usage notes

Often capitalised, especially when used as a title. In British English, prime minister and premier are interchangeable, while in Australia and Canada, the federal leader is the prime minister and the state/provincial leaders are premiers. The term prime minister is commonly a synonym also in non-Westminster system contexts

Synonyms

• (parliamentary leader of government and leader of cabinet in a national parliament): prime minister, first minister

• (parliamentary leader of government and leader of cabinet in a state or provincial parliament): first minister

• (head of government in a non-Westminster system): prime minister

• (second-in-command on a ship): first lieutenant, first mate

Verb

premier (third-person singular simple present premiers, present participle premiering, simple past and past participle premiered)

To perform, display or exhibit for the first time.

To govern in the role of premier.