principle
pronunciation
How to pronounce principle in British English:
UK [ˈprɪnsəpl]
How to pronounce principle in American English:
US [ˈprɪnsəpl]
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- Noun:
- a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct
- a rule or standard especially of good behavior
- a basic truth or law or assumption
- a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system
- rule of personal conduct
- (law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature)
Word Origin
- principle
- principle: [14] Frequently confused, principal [13] and principle come from distinct sources – but both sources were derived ultimately from Latin princeps ‘chief’ (from which English gets prince). Principal goes back via Old French principal to Latin principālis ‘first, original’, while principle comes from *principle, an assumed Anglo-Norman variant of Old French principle, which went back to Latin principium ‘beginning, foundation’.=> first, prime, prince
- principle (n.)
- late 14c., "origin, source, beginning; rule of conduct; axiom, basic assumption; elemental aspect of a craft or discipline," from Anglo-French principle, Old French principe "origin, cause, principle," from Latin principium (plural principia) "a beginning, commencement, origin, first part," in plural "foundation, elements," from princeps (see prince). Used absolutely for (good or moral) principle from 1650s.It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them. [Adlai Stevenson, speech, New York City, Aug. 27, 1952] Scientific sense of "general law of nature" is recorded from 1802. The English -l- apparently is by analogy of participle, etc.