Primetime

How to spell primetime

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce primetime

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does primetime mean?

1. nounThe peak evening period when television and radio audiences are largest.
2. adjectiveDescribing programming broadcast in the peak evening period, or by extension something of top quality or prominence.

Primetime in a sentence

• noun

  The new drama will air during primetime on Saturday.

• adjective

  The comedian landed his own primetime talk show this season.

• noun

  Advertising slots in primetime cost far more than late-night ones.

• adjective

  The scandal became primetime news on every major network.

Where does primetime come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This compound joins two very different ancestors. The first half, prime, descends from the Latin primus, meaning 'first' or 'foremost', which reached English through Old French and came to suggest the best or most valuable part of something. The second half, time, is a thoroughly native word, from the Old English tima, meaning a stretch or point of time, and is related to the idea of 'tide' as a recurring period. The phrase came together in the world of American radio and then television broadcasting in the middle of the twentieth century, naming the evening hours when the largest audience is watching and advertising rates are highest. Although it began as two separate words, prime time, the closed-up single-word form primetime has become common in modern usage, especially as a label. Holding the two ideas side by side, 'first-quality' time, is the easiest way to remember why both halves belong in the spelling.

How the word is built

• prime (from Latin primus: first, best)
• time (Old English tima: a period or point)