Today I was reviewing writing samples for a business writingseminar when Iread the phrase “one of the countrys premiere spa resorts.”
Premiere?I liked the sound and sense of the word to describe a spa resort, but I wasnt sure about the spelling. What do you think? Premiere or premier?
As usual, the experts gathered on my bookshelf do not agree completely, but the clear preference for the use in my sample phrase ispremier.
If you would like to refresh yourself on the spellings and meanings of the two forms, here is what the excellent Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, offers:
Premier as an adjective means “first in position, rank, or importance” (like the premier spa resort) and “first in time, earliest.”
Premier as a noun is cross-referenced to “prime minister.”
Premiere is listed as an adjective and cross-referenced to premier. So that version, premiere,is correct for the spa resort too.
Premiere the noun is “a first performance or exhibition of” or”the chief actress of a theatrical cast.”
Premiere the verb is “to have a first public performance” or “to appear for the first time as a star performer.”
The American Heritage College Dictionary, Fourth Edition, generally agrees with Merriam-Websters on this topic, but it adds a definition for the adjective form premiere: “first or paramount; premier.”
The wonderfully opinionated Garners Modern American Usage, Third Edition, finds premier “often pretentious in place of first or foremost.” (Often pretentiousperhaps, but Ithink it works for a spa hotel.) However, Garner emphatically states that premier is the adjective form, and premiere the noun.
The AP Stylebook doesnt discuss premierexcept as the title of a political leader, and The Chicago Manual of Style doesnt mention either version.
After reviewing my best reference books, I will grant that both words may be used to describe the spa hotel. But I choose premier.
Have you researched any words lately? Please share.
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