Hypertext Webster Gateway: "preeminent"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Preeminent \Pre*["e]m"i*nent\, a. [L. praeminens, -entis, p. pr.
praeminere to be prominent, to surpass: cf. F.
pr['e]['e]minent. See {Pre-}, and {Eminent}.]
Eminent above others; prominent among those who are eminent;
superior in excellence; surpassing, or taking precedence of,
others; rarely, surpassing others in evil, or in bad
qualities; as, pre["e]minent in guilt.
In goodness and in power pre["e]minent. --Milton.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
preeminent
adj : greatest in importance or degree or significance or
achievement; "our greatest statesmen"; "the country's
leading poet"; "a preeminent archeologist" [syn: {greatest},
{leading(a)}]
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