Paramount
mid 16th century (in the sense ‘highest in jurisdiction’ in the phrases lord paramount and paramount chief ): from Anglo-Norman French paramont, from Old French par ‘by’ + amont ‘above’.
wiktionary
From Anglo-Norman paramont, paramount(“paramount, pre-eminent; above”), from Old French par, per(“by”) + amont, amunt(“upward”). [1]Par is derived from Latin per(“by means of, through”), from Proto-Indo-European *per-(“to go through; to carry forth, fare”); [2]amont and amunt are from Latin ad montem(“to the mountain; upward”), from ad(“up to”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd(“at; to”)) + montem (the accusative singular of mōns(“mount, mountain”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *men-(“to stand out, tower”)). [3]
etymonline
paramount (adj.)
"supreme, superior in power or jurisdiction," 1530s, from Anglo-French paramont, Old French paramont "above" (in place, order, degree), mid-14c., from Old French par "by," from Latin per "through, for, by" (see per (prep.)) + amont "up," from a mont "upward" (see amount (v.)). The word is equivalent to the Latin phrase per ad montem, literally "to the hill." Related: Paramountcy.
