paramount

Etymology

From Old French, from par, per (“by”) + amont, amount (“above, upward”), from Latin ad montem (“to a mountain”); see amount.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.ɹə.maʊnt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpæ.ɹəˌmaʊnt/, /ˈpɛ.ɹəˌmaʊnt/

Adjective

paramount (not comparable)

1. Supreme; highest; chief.
   • Francis Bacon

     a traitor paramount

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 20, in The China Governess‎:

     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.

2. Of the highest importance.

   Getting those credit cards paid off is paramount.

Further reading

• paramount in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• paramount in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• paramount at OneLook Dictionary Search