prime minister
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April 7, 2025
A prime minister is the chief executive of a parliamentary government. But here's the surprise: the title wasn't officially recognized until 1885, even though leaders such as Robert Walpole had been acting like one since 1721. For 164 years, the British had a PM without officially saying so. The job existed before the name did. Walpole set the precedent, shaped the role, and only generations later did someone write it down in an official register. Sometimes institutions grow faster than the words we use to describe them. See more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom
Rate of Appearance in English Language Print
Google's Ngram project shows how often a pair of words has appeared in print every year since the 1800's.
Data from Google Books Ngram Viewer. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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