Premier and premiere are, respectively, the masculine and feminine forms of the word for “first” in French. But is there a difference in English? Glad you asked.
Only premier is used as an adjective:
Aaron is the premier chess player at helveticka world headquarters, due in no small part to his gigantic intellect.
It can also be a noun:
Philippe Couillard, Premier of Quebec, signed into law a bill mandating the consumption of poutine and maple syrup during all Canadian high holidays.
But then, premiere is also a noun…
The premiere of CK’s one-man show, “Chewelah Chewbacca: My Struggle with Hypertrichosis,” promises to be the must-see production of the season.
…except when it’s a verb:
Shirlee will premiere her bold line of camouflage business casual attire later this spring.
So:
adjective = premier
noun = premier/premiere
verb = premiere
Or, to wrap it all up in a tidy little sentence:
Premier Couillard premiered Shirlee’s premier clothing line at the premiere of CK’s one-man show.
