PRINCIPAL

main, chief(a), primary, principal, master

(adjective) most important element; “the chief aim of living”; “the main doors were of solid glass”; “the principal rivers of America”; “the principal example”; “policemen were primary targets”; “the master bedroom”; “a master switch”

principal, dealer

(noun) the major party to a financial transaction at a stock exchange; buys and sells for his own account

principal, school principal, head teacher, head

(noun) the educator who has executive authority for a school; “she sent unruly pupils to see the principal”

principal

(noun) (criminal law) any person involved in a criminal offense, regardless of whether the person profits from such involvement

star, principal, lead

(noun) an actor who plays a principal role

principal, corpus, principal sum

(noun) capital as contrasted with the income derived from it

principal

(noun) the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

principal (comparative more principal, superlative most principal)

Primary; most important; first level in importance.

(obsolete, Latinism) Of or relating to a prince; princely.

Usage notes

Principal should not be confused with principle. Principle is always a noun, which is sometimes erroneously used with the meaning of the adjective principal.

• Incorrect: He is the principle musician in the band

• Correct: He is the principal musician in the band

A mnemonic to avoid this confusion is "The principal alphabetic principle places A before E".

Principal is generally not used in the comparative or superlative in formal writing, as the meaning is already superlative. However, like unique, it is sometimes used in this way.

Synonyms

• (primary): chief, main, primary

Noun

principal (countable and uncountable, plural principals)

(finance, uncountable) The money originally invested or loaned, on which basis interest and returns are calculated.

(North America, Australia, New Zealand) The chief administrator of a school.

(UK, Canada) The chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college.

(legal) A legal person that authorizes another (the agent) to act on their behalf; or on whose behalf an agent or gestor in a negotiorum gestio acts.

(legal) The primary participant in a crime.

(North America) A partner or owner of a business.

(music) A diapason, a type of organ stop on a pipe organ.

(architecture, engineering) The construction that gives shape and strength to a roof, generally a truss of timber or iron; or, loosely, the most important member of a piece of framing.

The first two long feathers of a hawk's wing.

One of the turrets or pinnacles of waxwork and tapers with which the posts and centre of a funeral hearse were formerly crowned.

(obsolete) An essential point or rule; a principle.

A dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company.

(computing) A security principal.

Usage notes

Principal should not be confused with principle. They are both nouns, but principle means "moral rule", while principal may refer to a person or entity.

• Incorrect: He is the principle of our school

• Correct: He is the principal of our school

Synonyms

• (original money invested or loaned)

• (school administrator): headteacher n, headmaster m, headmistress f

• (chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college): dean

• (one under whose direction and on whose behalf an agent acts): client

• (company represented by a salesperson)

• (primary participant in a crime): ringleader

• (owner of or partner in a business): proprietor

• (organ stop): diapason

Coordinate terms

• (original money invested or loaned): interest

• (school administrator): master, mistress

• (chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college): bursar

• (primary participant in a crime): accessory

Source: Wiktionary

Prin"ci*pal, a. Etym: [F., from L. principalis. See Prince.]

1. Highest in rank, authority, character, importance, or degree; most considerable or important; chief; main; as, the principal officers of a Government; the principal men of a state; the principal productions of a country; the principal arguments in a case. Wisdom is the principal thing. Prov. iv. 7.

2. Of or pertaining to a prince; princely. [A Latinism] [Obs.] Spenser. Principal axis. See Axis of a curve, under Axis.

– Principal axes of a quadric (Geom.), three lines in which the principal planes of the solid intersect two and two, as in an ellipsoid.

– Principal challenge. (Law) See under Challenge.

– Principal plane. See Plane of projection (a), under Plane.

– Principal of a quadric (Geom.), three planes each of which is at right angles to the other two, and bisects all chords of the quadric perpendicular to the plane, as in an ellipsoid.

– Principal point (Persp.), the projection of the point of sight upon the plane of projection.

– Principal ray (Persp.), the line drawn through the point of sight perpendicular to the perspective plane.

– Principal section (Crystallog.), a plane passing through the optical axis of a crystal.

Prin"ci*pal, n.

1. A leader, chief, or head; one who takes the lead; one who acts independently, or who has controlling authority or influence; as, the principal of a faction, a school, a firm, etc.; -- distinguished from a subordinate, abettor, auxiliary, or assistant.

2. Hence: (Law) (a) The chief actor in a crime, or an abettor who is present at it, - - as distinguished from an accessory. (b) A chief obligor, promisor, or debtor, -- as distinguished from a surety. (c) One who employs another to act for him, -- as distinguished from an agent. Wharton. Bouvier. Burrill.

3. A thing of chief or prime importance; something fundamental or especially conspicuous. Specifically: (a) (Com.) A capital sum of money, placed out at interest, due as a debt or used as a fund; -- so called in distinction from interest or profit. (b) (Arch. & Engin.) The construction which gives shape and strength to a roof, -- generally a truss of timber or iron, but there are roofs with stone principals. Also, loosely, the most important member of a piece of framing. (c) (Mus.) In English organs the chief open metallic stop, an octave above the open diapason. On the manual it is four feet long, on the pedal eight feet. In Germany this term corresponds to the English open diapason. (d) (O. Eng. Law) A heirloom; a mortuary. Cowell. (e) pl.

Definition: The first two long feathers of a hawk's wing. Spenser. J. H. Walsh. (f) One of turrets or pinnacles of waxwork and tapers with which the posts and center of a funeral hearse were formerly crowned. Oxf. Gloss. (g) A principal or essential point or rule; a principle. [Obs.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

PRINCIPAL

Etymology

Adjective

Usage notes

Synonyms

Noun

Usage notes

Synonyms

Coordinate terms

Recent Word Finds

Word of the Day

SHTIK

Do you know this game?