[Olog-hai]

Was naming a whole taxonomic animal order “Primates” a dig at Christian churches with archbishops that hold a rank of that name?

[sagar]

I wondered about that. Then I stopped wondering about that.

[TigersEye]

Was naming a whole taxonomic animal order “Primates” a dig at Christian churches with archbishops that hold a rank of that name?

Maybe. Or maybe it was just a logical use of Latin.

Primate

noun

1. Ecclesiastical. an archbishop or bishop ranking first among the bishops of a province or country.

2. any of various omnivorous mammals of the order Primates, comprising the three suborders Anthropoidea (humans, great apes, gibbons, Old World monkeys, and New World monkeys), Prosimii (lemurs, loris, and their allies), and Tarsioidea (tarsiers), especially distinguished by the use of hands, varied locomotion, and by complex flexible behavior involving a high level of social interaction and cultural adaptability.

3. Archaic. a chief or leader.

Origin of primate

1175-1225; Middle English primat dignitary, religious leader < Late Latin prīmāt- (stem of prīmās), noun use of Latin prīmās of first rank, derivative of prīmus first (see prime); (def 2) taken as singular of New Latin Primates Primates, as if ending in -ate

-ate

Word Origin

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, its English distribution paralleling that of Latin. The form originated as a suffix added to a- stem verbs to form adjectives (separate). The resulting form could also be used independently as a noun (advocate) and came to be used as a stem on which a verb could be formed (separate; advocate; agitate). In English the use as a verbal suffix has been extended to stems of non-Latin origin: calibrate; acierate .

[Mrs. Don-o]

Primate means Primary, First, Top of the List.

Ape-type Primates are at the top of the mammal hierarchy.

Bishop-type Primates are at the top of their national ecclesiastical hierarchy.

But you knew that!