Editing Primus inter pares (section)

{{Short description|Latin phrase meaning "first among equals"}}
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{{Redirect|First among equals||First Among Equals (disambiguation){{!}}First Among Equals}}
{{For|the cognitive bias sometimes known as the "primus inter pares effect"|illusory superiority}}
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'''{{lang|la|Primus inter pares}}''' is a [[Latin]] phrase meaning '''first among equals'''.{{efn|[[Latin grammar|Grammatically]], the expression refers to a single male figure. A female would be ''prima inter pares'' and the plurals of both forms would be ''primi inter pares'' and ''primæ inter pares'' in the [[nominative case]] and ''primos inter pares'' and ''primas inter pares'' in the [[accusative case|accusative]]. All these forms are exceedingly rare in [[English language|English]] usage, however.}} It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their [[seniority]] in office.<ref>''Hutchinson Encyclopedia''. "[http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/difficultwords/data/d0010373.html Primus inter pares]" . 2007. Hosted at Tiscali. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051129094337/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/difficultwords/data/d0010373.html |date=November 29, 2005 }}</ref>

Historically, the ''[[princeps senatus]]'' of the [[Roman Senate]] was such a figure and initially bore only the distinction that he was allowed to speak first during [[parliamentary debate|debate]]. After the [[Crisis of the Roman Republic|fall of the Republic]], [[Roman emperors]] initially referred to themselves only as ''[[princeps]]'' despite having enormous power.

Various modern figures such as the [[prime minister]] in [[parliamentary system]]s, the [[president of the Swiss Confederation]], the [[chief justice of the United States]], the [[chief justice of the Philippines]], the [[archbishop of Canterbury]] of the [[Anglican Communion]], the [[chair of the Federal Reserve]] in the United States and the [[ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople]] of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] fall under both senses: Bearing higher status and various additional powers while remaining still merely equal to their peers in important senses.