principaladj.n.adv.

Brit.

/ˈprɪnsᵻpl/, U.S.

/ˈprɪnsəp(ə)l/

Forms: Middle English prencipale (northern), Middle English prencipall (northern), Middle English princepal, Middle English princepale, Middle English principalier (comparative), Middle English principaly (probably transmission error), Middle English princypale, Middle English princypalle, Middle English prinsepall, Middle English prinsipall (in a late copy), Middle English prinspal, Middle English prinspall, Middle English pryncepal, Middle English prynciall (transmission error), Middle English pryncipale, Middle English prynsipall, Middle English prynspal, Middle English–1500s princypal, Middle English–1500s pryncipal, Middle English–1500s pryncypall, Middle English–1500s pryncypalle, Middle English–1600s principale, Middle English–1600s principall, Middle English–1600s principalle, Middle English–1600s princypall, Middle English–1600s pryncipall, Middle English–1600s pryncypal, Middle English– principal, late Middle English– principle (now nonstandard), 1500s presepalles (plural, perhaps transmission error), 1500s princepall, 1500s principael, 1600s princopal, 1600s princseepalle, 1600s prineseepalle, 1600s prinseepalle, 1600s printipall (transmission error); also Scottish pre-1700 prencipale, pre-1700 prencipall, pre-1700 prencypall, pre-1700 prensepal, pre-1700 prensepall, pre-1700 prensepell, pre-1700 prensipall, pre-1700 prenspall, pre-1700 prensypall, pre-1700 princepale, pre-1700 princepall, pre-1700 princiepall, pre-1700 principaill, pre-1700 principale, pre-1700 principall, pre-1700 principell, pre-1700 principill, pre-1700 princypall, pre-1700 prinsipale, pre-1700 prinsipall, pre-1700 prinspail, pre-1700 pryncepall, pre-1700 pryncipaill, pre-1700 pryncipale, pre-1700 pryncipall, pre-1700 pryncipalle, pre-1700 prynsabyll, pre-1700 prynsepell, pre-1700 prynsipall, pre-1700 prynsuall (perhaps transmission error), pre-1700 1800s prencipal, 1800s prinncipal (Shetland).

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French princepal, principal; Latin principālis.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman princepal, principal, principall, principalle, prinsepal and Old French, Middle French principal (adjective) princely, royal (c1100 in Old French), chief, most important (early 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman with reference to things, late 12th cent. with reference to people), excellent, splendid (late 12th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), designating the chief person involved in a particular action or proceeding (late 13th cent. or earlier in legal use in Anglo-Norman), (noun) important and influential person (late 12th cent.), military leader (early 13th cent.), (usually in plural) order of angels in the celestial hierarchy (second quarter of the 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman in plural principez ), person who is directly responsible for an action, especially who is the main perpetrator of a crime (late 12th cent. or earlier in legal use in Anglo-Norman), person who is primarily liable for a debt (end of the 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), capital upon which interest is paid (early 14th cent. or earlier), chief matter, content, or object (early 14th cent. or earlier in legal use in Anglo-Norman, with reference to a plea; apparently not paralleled in continental French until later (first half of the 15th cent. or earlier)), head of a college (1549) and their etymon classical Latin principālis (adjective) basic, primary, original, first, most important, chief, princely, imperial, (in law) designating the chief person involved in a particular action or proceeding (2nd cent. a.d. in reus principālis chief defendant), in post-classical Latin also designating an original sum invested or lent (13th cent. in British sources), (of a document) original (1437 in a British source), (as masculine noun) leading citizen (2nd cent. a.d. in Apuleius), in post-classical Latin also head of a college (frequently from 1282 in British sources; 15th or 16th cent. in continental sources), also principāle (neuter noun) chief or most important part, in post-classical Latin also original document (a1210, 1549 in British sources), (in philosophy) essence (c1270 in a British source), original sum lent (from 13th cent. in British sources), main point in an argument (mid 14th cent. in British sources) < princip- , princeps (see princeps n. and adj.) + -ālis -al suffix¹.Compare Old Occitan, Occitan principal (early 13th cent. or earlier as adjective, c1300 as noun in sense ‘capital’), Catalan principal (late 13th cent. or earlier as adjective and noun, the latter in sense ‘legal representative’), Spanish principal (early 13th cent. or earlier as adjective, mid 13th cent. or earlier as noun), Portuguese principal (13th cent. as adjective, 15th cent. as noun in sense ‘head of a religious community, e.g. monastery’), Italian principale (a1292 as adjective, a1446 as noun in sense ‘employer’), and also Middle Dutch principael (Dutch principaal ), adjective and noun. In sense A. 7a after post-classical Latin verbum principale (14th cent. in British and continental sources; already in classical Latin denoting a base verb from which e.g. frequentative verbs are derived (2nd cent. a.d.)); this sense is apparently not paralleled in French until considerably later (1765). In sense A. 7b after German Haupttempora, plural (1774 or earlier); compare post-classical Latin tempora principalia , plural (1735 or earlier). With sense B. 11b compare Dutch principaal (apparently early 16th cent., although dictionaries of Dutch do not give examples earlier than the 19th cent.), German Prinzipal (late 16th cent. or earlier as †principal ), Old Occitan principal (1469), all in sense ‘main organ stop’, and probably also post-classical Latin organum principale (1573 or earlier, apparently in same sense). In German, Prinzipal is applied to the open diapason, and (with qualifications, e.g. Halbprinzipal ) to all stops of the same quality, of any pitch higher or lower. In sense B. 11c after German †Principal (apparently 17th cent., though not dated in dictionaries of German; now (hist.) Prinzipal ), †Principale (a1731 or earlier), both denoting a bass trumpet and its part in a musical work. Especially from the 20th cent. onwards, misspellings of both the adjective and the noun as principle are common, especially in senses A. 1, A. 2. Such misspellings are no doubt chiefly due to the homophony of principal and principle , but were probably reinforced by the semantic similarity of both words. Senses B. 4c and B. 7b likewise appear to be due to confusion of the homophones (and could alternatively be interpreted as showing later examples of the β forms of principle n.: compare discussion at that entry). In early use, especially postpositively, the adjective frequently occurs in plural forms principals , principales ; this usage is after French. With the use as adverb compare Middle Dutch principael (adverb), and earlier principally adv.

A. adj.

I. General senses.

1. Of a number of things or persons, or one of their number: belonging to the first rank; among the most important; prominent, leading, main; = chief adj. 4.Formerly frequently with superlative principallest (or most principal), or (occasionally) with comparative principaller (or more principal).

a. Applied to things.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > most important > of things

principalc1300

principal1417

supremec1550

capital1597

hegemonic1656

vital1810

big time1914

high-level1947

c1300 St. Kenelm (Laud) 15 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 345 (MED) Þare-inne beoth..bote þreo wateres principales..Þat on is homber, þat oþur seuerne, and temes þe þridde is.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 692 (MED) Planetes sefne principal Ther ben.

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 7299 (MED) Now have I schewed yhow..Þe fourtene generalle payns in helle, Bot yhit es over þase a payne generalle, Þat of alle other es mast principalle.

1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton B j b The scoler which wyl lerne ought to haue thre pryncipalle condycions.

1533 in J. W. Clay Testamenta Eboracensia (1902) VI. 36 The fyve pryncypall woundes of our Lord.

1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 10 Water is one of the principalest things to be cared for.

1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. v. i. sig. Ii7 A further and more principal Consideration.

1690 in Locke Govt. i. vi. §62 He..has the Sovereignty over the Woman, as being the nobler and principaller Agent in Generation.

1723 tr. F. C. Weber Present State Russia I. 305 Among the Drugs which Russia produces, Rhubarb is one of the most principal.

1787 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Norfolk I. 131 An East-Norfolk farmer divides his farm into what he calls ‘six shifts’, to receive his principal crops in rotation.

1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xix. 178 He lived in solitary grandeur; eating and sleeping alone, (and these were his principal occupations).

1874 J. Sully Sensation & Intuition xi. 298 Character is but one, though a principal, source of interest among several that are employed by the drama.

1924 London Guide No. 3 152 At all the principal traffic centres and at the route terminals are uniformed ‘General’ Inspectors [of buses].

1973 A. C. Boult My Own Trumpet ix. 97 For the principal posts the finest possible players were invited.

2003 J. Haldane Intelligent Person's Guide to Relig. iv. 102 One of the principal targets of Arab critics of the United States..is what is seen as America's cultural and economic imperium.

b. Applied to persons, animals, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > most important > of people

mosta1300

principala1382

principal?a1425

capitalc1475

supreme1496

chief1535

leading1631

staple1642

big league1917

high-level1947

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 160 (MED) This contree..hath xij princypall kynges in xij prouynces.

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 510 (MED) A mannys fadir and modir..ben to him summe of hise principalist neiȝboris.

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. clxi. 196 The frenche kynge wolde nat agree without he myght haue foure of the princypallest of the englysshmen at his pleasure.

1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales i. vii. 11 Certaine of the principallest Gentlemen of the citie.

1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 133 A principall family of Indians, who are said to descend from the ancient Kings.

1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 349 He was..a principal maintainer of Protestancy.

1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 322 The [Dutch] Government of the Cape is administer'd by eight Courts or Councils. 1. The Grand-Council, or College of Policy, which consists of the Governor, and eight of the Company's principal Officers.

a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) i. 57 I made an Acquaintance with many principal People of the Province.

1808 E. Sleath Bristol Heiress III. 263 Attended by some of the principal of the nobility.

a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1658/2 The Florida cedar is used by all of the principal pencil-makers in the world.

1940 M. McCarthy in Partisan Rev. Mar. 136 There are three principal characters, a poet and his son, and a fugitive from the Old People's Home.

1982 M. Campbell-Kelly in M. V. Wilkes et al. Preparation of Programs for Electronic Digital Computer (new ed.) Introd. p. xiii The ingenious debugging subroutines he devised would alone have justified his ranking as a principal author [of a programming system].

2002 D. Verton Hacker Diaries viii. 174 H.D. became one of the principal arms dealers, supplying the so-called packet warriors of the Internet with DOS-based scripts.

2. Of a particular thing or person: first or highest in rank or importance; that is at the head of all the rest; of the greatest account or value.

a. Of a thing: first, chief, most important.Formerly also used postpositively.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adjective]

firsteOE

headOE

highOE

greatc1350

upperestc1374

chief1377

singular1377

principala1382

royalc1425

cardinal1440

pre-eminenta1460

praisea1475

main1480

maina1525

primary1565

captain1566

arch1574

mistressa1586

capital1597

topless1609

primea1616

metropolitan1635

transeminent1660

whole1675

uppermost1680

primus inter pares1688

topping1694

Sudder1787

par excellence1839

banner1840

primatial1892

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > most important > of people

mosta1300

principala1382

principal?a1425

capitalc1475

supreme1496

chief1535

leading1631

staple1642

big league1917

high-level1947

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Judith Prol. 23 To hir citeseynis she broȝte aȝeen þe principal victorie.

c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 515 Now wol I speken of the remedye agayns this foule synne of Enuye; First is the loue of god principal and louynge of his neighebore as hym self.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 43 (MED) Ebron was wont to ben the princypall cytee of the Philistyenes.

?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. lxxxiv. f. 58 (MED) Pride is þe firste and principal synne.

1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) 71 This hows is chyef and pryncipalle of alle other howses.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Ai The principall purpose of our entent.

1611 Bible (King James) Prov. iv. 7 Wisedome is the principall thing, therefore get wisedome.

1683 J. Bramston Autobiogr. 2 The first and principale rule giuen is to liue well.

1733 tr. Ceremonies & Relig. Customs Var. Nations I. i. ii. iii. 46 A Man who hath made the oral Law his principal Study.

1738 G. Smith tr. Laboratory ii. 43 Your first or principal Matter for Enamel-Colours.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xv. 100 The glacier which had filled the principal valley.

1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 23 Their principal food is flour and meal.

1922 S. Lewis Babbitt xxx. 357 Her principal gesture was a pontifical but thoroughly ladylike blessing with two stubby fingers.

1976 A. Eden Another World i. 18 The library was his principal achievement.

2004 Holiday Which? Winter 19/2 The principal street has an old apothecary's shop—still as it was in 1863.

b. Of a person: having the highest rank or most important position; chief.Formerly also used postpositively, esp. in titles. Cf. sheriff-principal at sheriff n. 2b, Official Principal at official n.¹ 1.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adjective]

higheOE

drightlikeOE

highlyOE

drightfula1225

prouda1275

principalc1385

solemna1387

gentlec1390

high and mighty1400

imperial?c1400

royalc1405

kinglyc1425

sublimatec1425

lordfulc1429

lordlyc1440

assumpt1447

raiseda1450

haught1470

kinglikec1485

lordlike1488

triumphant1494

greatlya1500

princely?a1510

supereminent1531

princelike1532

lofta1547

lofty1548

regal1561

supernal1562

haughty1563

excelse1569

queen-like?1571

majestical1578

erecteda1586

augustious1591

ennobled1592

imperious1592

enthronized1593

august1594

high-born1598

sublimed1602

jovial1604

majestic1606

enthroned1609

starred1615

exalted1623

majestuous1633

reared1638

sublimary1655

majestative1656

kingrik1663

superb1663

grand1673

celse1708

stilted1744

canonized1790

queenly1791

apotheosized1794

princified1857

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adjective] > specifically of people

chief138.

principalc1385

capitalc1475

grand1539

c1385 G. Chaucer Knight's Tale 1498 Arcita..With Theseus his squyer principal Is risen.

c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 32 (MED) For that j [sc. Penitence] kan so wel washe, so wel lathere, and so wel bowke, hath god maad me his chambrere and his principal [Fr. principal] lauendere.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Rest of Esther xvi. B He was..had in hye honoure of euery man, as the next and pryncipall vnto the kynge.

1578 in I. H. Jeayes Catal. Charters Berkeley Castle (1892) 324 Robert Commendatar of Dunfermelenge owre principall Secretar and Ambassador.

1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 3 The principal Minister, who among the Lutherans is look'd upon as a Bishop.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 169 He would first acquaint that Gentleman who was their principal Benefactor, with the Distress they were in.

1795 Gentleman's Mag. July 544/2 He was the principal projector of the fund for decayed musicians.

1843 E. Dieffenbach Trav. N.Z. II. i. vii. 114 The fat of the native rats (Kiore) killed on such lands should be given to the principal proprietor.

1897 H. G. Wells Invisible Man vi. 44 She was the expert and principal operator in this affair.

1935 W. S. Churchill Let. 10 Mar. in W. S. Churchill & C. S. Churchill Speaking for Themselves (1999) xvi. 393 We have a big meeting at the Albert Hall on Thursday next at which I am the principal speaker.

1997 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 May 10/1 The real turning point was the great pogrom of November 1938 (Reichskristallnacht ) of which Hitler himself was the principal mover.

2005 Delicious Nov. (Flavours of India Suppl.) 4/3 It is believed that the principal Hindu god, Vishnu, experienced many different incarnations.

†3. Of, belonging to, or befitting a prince; princely, royal. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > [adjective]

reala1325

rialc1330

principala1382

royalc1405

princely?a1510

monarchical?1573

monarchal?1585

monarchic1604

monarchial1788

majestarian1847

sovereignly1884

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Esther ii. 18 He ȝaf reste to alle prouyncis & grauntide large ȝiftis aftir principal gret doyng [a1425 L.V. aftir the worschipful doyng of a prynce; L. iuxta magnificentiam principalem].

?1435 ( J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 632 (MED) The moste princypall [were] Afforn in reede with theire Meire rydyng.

a1450 Lessons of Dirige (Digby) 373 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 119 (MED) Wiþ þy blod principal, Wonderly þou haste vs boȝt.

1578 Bk. Christian Prayers in Private Prayers (1851) 499 Give me the comfort of thy saving help again, and strengthen me with a principal Spirit.

1582 T. Bentley et al. Monument of Matrones Ep. Ded. Hauing the principal and heroicall spirit of your holie father good King Dauid.

1591 E. Spenser Muiopotmos in Complaints sig. X But walkt at will, and wandred too and fro, In the pride of his freedome principall.

1614 T. Lodge tr. Seneca De Beneficiis 22 This is..a principall tribute.

4. Of special quality; excellent, choice; first-class, first-rate. Now rare (Scottish in later use). Sc. National Dict.(1968) records this sense as still in use in Shetland and Kirkcudbrightshire in 1966.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective]

faireOE

bremea1000

goodlyOE

goodfulc1275

noblec1300

pricec1300

specialc1325

gentlec1330

fine?c1335

singulara1340

thrivena1350

thriven and throa1350

gaya1375

properc1380

before-passinga1382

daintiful1393

principala1398

gradelya1400

burlyc1400

daintyc1400

thrivingc1400

voundec1400

virtuousc1425

hathelc1440

curiousc1475

singlerc1500

beautiful1502

rare?a1534

gallant1539

eximious1547

jolly1548

egregious?c1550

jellyc1560

goodlike1562

brawc1565

of worth1576

brave?1577

surprising1580

finger-licking1584

admirablea1586

excellinga1586

ambrosial1598

sublimated1603

excellent1604

valiant1604

fabulous1609

pure1609

starryc1610

topgallant1613

lovely1614

soaringa1616

twanging1616

preclarent1623

primea1637

prestantious1638

splendid1644

sterling1647

licking1648

spankinga1666

rattling1690

tearing1693

famous1695

capital1713

yrare1737

pure and —1742

daisy1757

immense1762

elegant1764

super-extra1774

trimming1778

grand1781

gallows1789

budgeree1793

crack1793

dandy1794

first rate1799

smick-smack1802

severe1805

neat1806

swell1810

stamming1814

divine1818

great1818

slap-up1823

slapping1825

high-grade1826

supernacular1828

heavenly1831

jam-up1832

slick1833

rip-roaring1834

boss1836

lummy1838

flash1840

slap1840

tall1840

high-graded1841

awful1843

way up1843

exalting1844

hot1845

ripsnorting1846

clipping1848

stupendous1848

stunning1849

raving1850

shrewd1851

jammy1853

slashing1854

rip-staving1856

ripping1858

screaming1859

up to dick1863

nifty1865

premier cru1866

slap-bang1866

clinking1868

marvellous1868

rorty1868

terrific1871

spiffing1872

all wool and a yard wide1882

gorgeous1883

nailing1883

stellar1883

gaudy1884

fizzing1885

réussi1885

ding-dong1887

jim-dandy1888

extra-special1889

yum-yum1890

out of sight1891

outasight1893

smooth1893

corking1895

large1895

super1895

hot dog1896

to die for1898

yummy1899

deevy1900

peachy1900

hi1901

v.g.1901

v.h.c.1901

divvy1903

doozy1903

game ball1905

goodo1905

bosker1906

crackerjack1910

smashinga1911

jake1914

keen1914

posh1914

bobby-dazzling1915

juicy1916

pie on1916

jakeloo1919

snodger1919

whizz-bang1920

wicked1920

four-star1921

wow1921

Rolls-Royce1922

whizz-bang1922

wizard1922

barry1923

nummy1923

ripe1923

shrieking1926

crazy1927

righteous1930

marvy1932

cool1933

plenty1933

brahmaa1935

smoking1934

solid1935

mellow1936

groovy1937

tough1937

bottler1938

fantastic1938

readyc1938

ridge1938

super-duper1938

extraordinaire1940

rumpty1940

sharp1940

dodger1941

grouse1941

perfecto1941

pipperoo1945

real gone1946

bosting1947

supersonic1947

whizzo1948

neato1951

peachy-keen1951

ridgey-dite1953

ridgy-didge1953

top1953

whizzing1953

badass1955

wild1955

belting1956

magic1956

bitching1957

swinging1958

ridiculous1959

a treat1959

fab1961

bad-assed1962

uptight1962

diggish1963

cracker1964

marv1964

radical1964

bakgat1965

unreal1965

pearly1966

together1968

safe1970

bad1971

brilliant1971

fabby1971

schmick1972

butt-kicking1973

ripper1973

Tiffany1973

bodacious1976

rad1976

kif1978

awesome1979

death1979

killer1979

fly1980

shiok1980

stonking1980

brill1981

dope1981

to die1982

mint1982

epic1983

kicking1983

fabbo1984

mega1985

ill1986

posho1989

pukka1991

lovely jubbly1992

awesomesauce2001

nang2002

bess2006

amazeballs2009

boasty2009

daebak2009

beaut2013

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 178^v þey vsen principal lokyng and siȝt of arwes.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 4166 At every corner of this wall Was set a tour full pryncipall.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 405 (MED) Thei accompte that wyne most principalle whiche is most redde [a1387 J. Trevisa tr. Euere þe redder is þe wyn, Þey holdeþ it þe more fyn].

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Song of Sol. v. 13 His lippes droppe as the floures of the most principall Myrre.

a1552 J. Leland Itinerary (1711) IV. 29 From Kiddey Mouth..to the Mouthe of Thawän a 3. Miles by very principal good Corn Ground.

1589 ‘Pasquill of England’ Returne of Pasquill sig. Biij^v A great Nosegay in his hande, of the principalest flowers I could gather.

1610 Bible (Douay) II. Ezek. xxvii. 17 Iuda and the land of Israel they were thy merchants in the principal corne [L. in frumento primo].

1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. x. 40 And Tupitil and Teutecatl, very principall gentlemen, had the Vant-gard with ten thousand men.

1835 J. Hogg Tales Wars Montrose (1874) 681 He was a principal man at weapon-shaws, excelling every competitor.

1898 J. J. H. Burgess Tang 51 Prinncipal, boy, prinncipal; he's raelly been prinncipal wadder for da herrin.

†5. Specially great (in comparison with things of the kind generally); of high degree or importance; special, eminent. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [adjective]

speciala1387

especialc1400

principal1417

peculiarc1449

extraordinaryc1460

enspeciala1533

individual1646

different1856

speciality1879

speshul1900

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > most important > of things

principalc1300

principal1417

supremec1550

capital1597

hegemonic1656

vital1810

big time1914

high-level1947

1417 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. I. 55 (MED) The gracious prosperitie..of your renowned person..[is] soe gracious and joyous newes..to the principall comforte and especiall consolation of us and all your faythfull subjectes.

1429 Norwich Constit. in Patent Roll, 8 Henry VI 15 Nov. (P.R.O.: C 66/426) m. 12 The xxiiij aldermen..xal..supporten the Mair..walkyng with hym on principal dayes and in procession.

a1500 Life St. Anne (Tanner) (1928) 99 (MED) Joachym went to cherche to make his offeryng on a pryncipall day.

1576 A. Fleming tr. Erasmus in Panoplie Epist. 353 Some beastes..as they are vnto man principall benefites, so to themselues and to their kind, they are most louing and tender.

1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 3 The Pen-men [of the Scripture being such as were] endewed with a principall portion of Gods spirit.

1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man ii. iii. 213 That which is prior in the Order of Nature is always less perfect and principal, than that which is posterior.

1868 H. Bushnell Serm. Living Subj. 252 Which is understood to be the manner to a principal degree of a certain immense trading house.

II. Special and technical senses.

6. Of money: constituting the primary or original sum; that is the main or capital sum invested or lent, and yielding interest or income; capital. Cf. sense B. 3. †principal cost: original or prime cost.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > financial dealings > types of money-dealing > [adjective] > capital or principal

principal1340

capital1569

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 35 (MED) Hi..makeþ ofte of þe gauel principale dette.

1455 in W. Fraser Lennox (1874) II. 71 As of principale dete to the said Patrik.

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxxvii^v It was ordeyned y^t the say persones beyng dettours to the sayd vsurers shuld paye the pryncipall dette vnto the kynge at theyr dayes of payment.

1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xxxii. f. 73 He desyred them..to take for that tyme theyr pryncipal som that was borowed, and clerely to remytte all the resydue.

c1677 in A. Marvell Acct. Growth Popery 62 The parties..swore the Principal Costs of their Goods was to the Value of 3902l.

a1687 W. Petty Polit. Arithm. (1690) Pref. sig. a iij Actions [shares] in the East-India Company are near double the principal Money.

1731 J. Gay Let. to Swift 20 Mar. At the same time tell me what I shall do with the principal sum.

1793 tr. A. R. J. Turgot Refl. Formation & Distrib. Wealth §79. 95 The use of those twenty thousand ounces of silver for a year is not worth less..than the twentieth part of the principal sum.

1852 J. Bright Let. 25 Oct. in Speeches Public Policy (1868) II. 534 500,000l. per annum..or a principal sum, at twenty years' purchase, of 10,000,000l.

1965 F. E. Perry & F. R. Ryder Thomson's Dict. Banking (ed. 11) 317/1 Irredeemable debenture, a debenture which does not contain any provision for repayment of the principal money.

2002 South China (Hong Kong) Morning Post (Nexis) 15 Sept. (Sunday Money) 3 Guaranteed funds..promise investors a return at least equalling the principal outlay.

7. Grammar.

a. Of a sentence or clause, or of a word (esp. a verb): superordinate to another which is auxiliary to or dependent upon it; that is the main clause, verb, etc. Opposed to subordinate or dependent. Cf. main clause n., main verb n. at main adj.² Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic relations > [adjective] > superordinate

principalc1414

superordinate1858

c1414 in D. Thompson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 105 (MED) Qwat shal þu do, if þu haue mone verbes in a reson, to knowe þi principal verbe?

1554 Bp. T. Watson Twoo Notable Serm. sig. Y.iiii^v Leauyng oute the principall verbe (est) in the wordes of Christ, as it was in y^e last boke in the firste pryntyng.

1590 J. Stockwood Eng. Accidence 2 After the nominatiue case commeth the principall verbe... First of all, the principall verbe must be sought out.

1612 J. Brinsley Ludus Lit. viii. 95 To seeke out carefully the principall Verbe, by the rule in the Grammar of finding out the principal Verb.

1726 J. T. Philipps Ess. towards Rational Gram. 85 Thence also qui, quis, quantus, qualis, and the like, coming in a Sentence after the principal Verb, govern the Verb following in a Subjunctive.

1770 A. Fisher New Eng. Exercise Bk. 18 When an Auxiliary is not expressed, we always express the Time in the principal Verb.

1777 J. Priestley Course Lect. on Oratory iii. xxxii. 281 A sentence must be ambiguous when it is impossible to determine, from the structure of it, to which antecedent a relative refers, or to what principal clause of a sentence a circumstance introduced into it belongs.

1871 H. J. Roby Gram. Lat. Lang. iv. iii. §1024 A compound sentence contains two or more single sentences... If they are not independent of each other, one will be principal and the others subordinate.

1876 C. P. Mason Eng. Gram. (ed. 21) §400 A Complex Sentence is one which, besides a principal subject and predicate, contains one or more subordinate clauses, which have subjects and predicates of their own.

1957 R. W. Zandvoort Handbk. Eng. Gram. (new ed.) i. v. 64 The opposite of ‘auxiliary’ is ‘notional verb’, ‘principal verb’, or ‘verb full of meaning’.

1992 Forum Mod. Lang. Stud. 28 39/1 The sense of incompleteness is emphasised by the fact that the opening adverbial clause..is never followed up by a principal clause with a finite verb.

b. Of a tense: = primary adj. 12.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > tense > [adjective] > other specific tenses

primary1813

principal1818

prospective1893

past future1904

expanded1931

1818 E. V. Blomfield tr. A. Matthiæ Copious Greek Gram. I. 244 The class of the Principal tenses [Ger. die Classe der Haupttemporum],..the other the class of the Historical tenses.

1842 W. E. Jelf Gram. Greek Lang. II. i. 70 These words are divided, as to their relations of time, into the Subjunctive of the principal tenses,..and the Subjunctive of the historic tenses.

1892 L. Kellner Hist. Outl. Eng. Syntax §371 Principal tenses depend on principal tenses; historical on historical.

1909 Mod. Lang Notes 24 99/1 Modern usage is..discarding the old sequence of tenses and using in the subordinate clause the principal tenses (present, perfect, future) of the subjunctive to indicate indirectness of statement.

2010 G. V. M. Haverling in P. Baldi & P. Cuzzolin New Perspectives on Hist. Lat. Syntax 363 The present tense, being a ‘principal tense’ together with the simple future, is usually followed by principal tenses.

8. Law. Designating the chief person concerned in some action or proceeding; esp. that is the actual perpetrator of, or directly responsible for, a crime. Cf. sense B. 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [adjective] > chief perpetrator of crime

principal1428

society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > [adjective] > that is chief person in proceeding

principal1428

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > party in litigation > [adjective] > that is chief person concerned

principal1428

1428 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 80 (MED) I bequethe to my wyfe alle þe goodis þat be meuablis, and sche to be my prinsepall seccutur.

1486 Act 3 Hen. VII c. 2 Such Mis-doers, Takers,..and Receitors..[shall] be..judged as principal Felons.

1511 in Bk. Old Edinb. Club XI. 107 Quhen ony parteis enteris to pley, that the principale party and thar advocat sale entir with thaim without ony ma personis.

1553 J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus Hist. vi. f. 112^v The residue of the counsail were of opinion that Philotas woulde neuer haue conseiled this conspiracie, excepte he had bene either principall or priuye therunto.

c1600 in J. Balfour Practicks (1754) 549 That the receiptar, or the complices, sall not be compellit to answer untill the assise proceid and deliver tuiching the principal partie.

a1699 J. Kirkton Secret & True Hist. Church Scotl. (1817) 363 It makes every man who shall either harbour, entertain, or converse with the persone intercommuned, equally guilty with the principal criminal.

1766 E. Griffith Double Mistake iii. iv. 43 In the aforesaid case, is not the young lady to be considered as the principal party?

1820 Ohio Repository (Canton, Ohio) 14 Dec. He could not..be tried without his consent, before the conviction of the principal felon.

1855 ‘I. Marvel’ Fudge Doings II. xxxvii. 219 The rumor..that the..principal instigator of the suit was a wooer of Miss Kitty, did not at all contribute to the success of the cause.

1959 F. Sondern Brotherhood of Evil xii. 226 When the fangs of the new law snapped shut on the next big national-international narcotics case in September 1957, the principal defendant was racketeer Harry Stromberg.

1996 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 26 Feb. 7 She added that the plea bargain in this case would have enabled the conviction of the principal felon had he not pleaded guilty.

9. Building. Of a beam, post, etc.: forming part of the main framework of a roof or building; spec. (of a rafter) forming an inclined part of the roof truss, being attached to a tie beam and supporting the horizontal purlins. Cf. sense B. 6.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [adjective] > principal member

principal1452

1452 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 282 Nicholas shamake newe a roofe to the cherche of seynt Bennettys..First, iiij principal Bemys with braces and pendaunttes... Item, atte euery end of the pendaunt shalbe a angell.

1477–9 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 85 To a Carpynter, for his labour, a principall post & a watir borde, xx d.

1594 H. Plat Diuerse Sorts of Soyle 10 in Jewell House The principall postes, the Rafters, and the beames of any house.

1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 45 Beams of the Roof for the principal Rafters to stand on.

1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. viii. 145 The Quarters and Braces between the principal Posts and Posts are fitted in.

1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 122 Crown-post, is that Post, which (in some Buildings) stands upright in the middle, between 2 principal Rafters.

?1785 Langley's Builder's Compl. Assist. (ed. 4) I. 152 If..there be discharging Struts framed into the Beams and Prick Posts..they will discharge the principal Rafters from the greatest Part of the whole Weight.

1860 R. Brandon & J. A. Brandon Open Timber Roofs 26 The wall-piece is tenoned into the underside of the principal rafter.

1970 N. Pevsner Cambridgeshire (Buildings of Eng.) (ed. 2) 508/1 Diaphragm [Arch], a transverse arch with solid spandrels carrying not a vault but a principal beam of a timber roof.

2002 Build It Nov. 56/2 This highly skilled undertaking would have to include replacing or re-enforcing the original butt purlins, post beams and principal rafters.

10. Scottish. Of a document: original; that is not a copy. Cf. sense B. 7a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > originality or non-imitation > [adjective] > of a document, etc.

principal1469

original1597

1469 Acts Parl. Scotl. II. 95/1 The quhilk register sall haue the samyn force as the principale reuersione wer schawing for the tyme.

1496 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. 19 This sade copy to be of als gret strenth..as the sade principale charter.

1567 in 6th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1877) 642/1 This is the autentik and iust copy of the principall lettir aboue mentionat... And the same originall and principall extant to schaw will testifie.

1589 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1881) 1st Ser. IV. 442 Thay wer nocht contenit in the body of the said principall letter..bot interlynnit on the mairgeane thairof.

1685 G. MacKenzie Acct. Discov. Conspiracies 26 All the principal Letters and Cyphers, with the Keys of Words, and a great many Depositions taken both here and in England, are lying in the Records of His Majesties Privy Council in Scotland.

1754 J. Erskine Princ. Law Scotl. II. iv. i. §7 No extract from an inferior court is a bar to certification; the principal writing must be laid before the Court of Session on a proper warrant.

1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 368 It is ultimately incumbent on either the defender or the pursuer to obtain a warrant for the production of the principal deed from the record.

1964 A. Walker & N. Walker Law of Evidence 240 It is competent in civil litigation, where the principal document is not material, for the parties to agree to accept a copy.

1994 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 11 Nov. 44 She [sc. a lawyer] said: ‘Oh dear, the council haven't given me the principal copy of the summons.’

11. Surveying. Designating the triangles measured in the first triangulation of a region, each extending over a large area, from which smaller secondary triangles are derived.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > surveying > [adjective] > specific orders of triangulation

principal1790

secondary1790

tertiary1851

first-order1863

primary1920

1790 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 80 248 The first set [of secondary triangles] consists of thirty-five, whereby the relative distances of so many points have been determined from certain stations of the principal series.

1795 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 85 490 (heading) Of the selection of the angles constituting the principal triangles, and the manner of reducing them for computation.

1883 Athenæum 14 July 52/3 The principal triangulation of India..has occupied the geodesists continuously since the beginning of the century.

1978 Imago Mundi 30 36 There were interesting incidental items such as a manuscript diagram of the principal triangles for England and Wales.

12. Seismology. Designating the most intense shock or earthquake in a sequence. Cf. mainshock n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > convulsion > [adjective] > earthquake

terremotive1837

seismic1858

seismical1869

earthquaking1881

seismotic1889

principal1899

macroseismic1903

primary wave1919

seismal1977

1899 C. Davison Hereford Earthquake Dec. 17, 1896 iv. 199 The principal shock was also registered by magnetographs at Kew.

1938 L. D. Leet Pract. Seismol. ix. 295 Davison has cited several well-studied cases..where the range of audibility of after-shocks increased progressively and systematically, giving evidence of decreasing depth of foci following the principal shock.

1965 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. (rev. ed.) xxv. 893 The principal shock, which generally lasts only a few seconds, or at most, and rarely, a few minutes, may be preceded by fore-shocks and is invariably followed by a series of after-shocks.

2002 Physics of Earth & Planetary Interiors 129 14/1 The present-day seismicity is mainly characterized by seismic series unassociated with a principal earthquake.

B. n.

I. Denoting persons occupying a principal position or rank.

a. A person having the highest authority in an organization, institution, or group; a chief, head, ruler, governor, master; †the master or mistress of a household (obsolete). Now rare except in specific senses (see B. 1c, B. 1d, B. 1e).

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > [noun] > those in authority > person in authority > head or chief

headeOE

headmanOE

headsmanOE

masterlinga1200

dukec1275

chevetaine1297

chief1297

headlingc1300

principalc1325

captainc1380

primatec1384

chieftainc1400

master-man1424

principate1483

grand captain1531

headmaster?1545

knap of the casec1555

capitano1594

muqaddam1598

mudaliyar1662

reis1677

sachem1684

doge1705

prytanis1790

gam1827

main guy1882

oga1917

ras1935

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 9154 (MED) Þe bissop roger of salesbury..þo was þe principal þe sacringe vor to do.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 487 As a king in his Empire Above alle othre is lord and Sire, So is the herte principal.

a1450 Rule St. Benet (Vesp.) (1902) 2441 (MED) Þe Priores os [= as] prencipall Sal be honord ouer þam all.

c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 219 (MED) When þer principall was dead, sho was made principall.

1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes iii. ii. 170 The Emperoure of Rome..is the pryncypall of the worlde.

a1525 G. Myll Spectakle of Luf in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1923) I. 282 The king Nysus that was principall and had the gouernance within this tovne.

1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xix. 85 Why, hath your principall made knowne vnto you who I am?

1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler Aggawam 66 In Breaches integrant, 'tween Principalls of States, Due Justice may suppresse, but Love redintegrates.

1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison III. vii. 46 The servants, throughout the house, adore you: And I am sure their principals do.

1795 M. P. Andrews & F. Reynolds Mysteries of Castle i. ii. 18 Please to dismiss the Lady of the Bed Chamber—I only speak to principals in office—always mute before underlings.

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 382/2 The principal of the firm was what is termed ‘gay’. He was particularly fond of attending public entertainments.

1879 ‘Australian’ Adventures Queensland 105 Two bark huts were built... The upper hut was for the two principals, the lower one for the men.

†b. In plural. Leading or prominent people in a community; nobles, notables. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > one who has leading position or is most important

firstc1275

coba1420

principalsa1425

cock1542

chief1569

colossus1605

primore1625

cape1650

sachem1684

leading light1707

high priest1737

king bee1792

gentleman, man of lead1793

queen bee1823

primo basso1826

spokesman1828

protagonist1837

kingpin1861

key man1895

headliner1896

big boy1921

numero uno1944

godfather1963

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun] > (group of) eminent people

greata1325

principalsa1425

the great and the good1624

constellationa1631

grand1667

Pleiad1856

prominenti1927

tycoonery1956

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Jer. xxv. 34 Ȝelle, ȝe scheepherdis, and crye, and, ȝe princypals of the floc [L. optimates gregis].

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 147 He commanded to the princypales [?a1425 Egerton þe grettest and þe ricchest] of the vij lynages, þat þei scholde leuen & forsaken all þat þei hadden in godes & heritage.

a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 124 Ther þe kyng tok þe principalis of London and sette hem in prison at Wyndesore.

1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. Epitome sig. Aij The principalls of ech Prouince, stayed themselues vpon his determination.

1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Hist. Kingdome of China 20 The garments which the nobles and principals do vse, bee of silke.

1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 11 To attaint by Parliament the Heads and Principals of his Enemies.

1631 in W. Stevenson Presbyterie Bk. Kirkcaldie (1900) 34 Whilks penalties shalbe taken up be the masters and principals of the ground in landward.

c. Chiefly in the United Kingdom: the head of a college, university, or other institute of higher learning. Cf. president n. 2c.In Oxford and Cambridge the title is confined to the heads of certain colleges and private halls (the others being variously designated president, master, provost, warden, rector, and dean).

ΘΚΠ

society > education > educational administration > university administration > [noun] > principal

principal1438

rector1523

pro-rector1886

1438 Early Chancery Proc. (Publ. Rec. Office) 75/11 One Roger Grey, Clerk, principalle of Brasenoce in Oxynforde.

1535–6 Act 27 Hen. VIII xlii, in Statutes of Realm (1817) III. 599 The Deanes Wardeynes Provostes Maisters Presidentes Rectours Principalles,..Scolers and Studentes..within the said Universities.

1569 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 675 Maister Alexander Andirsoun principall, Maister Andro Galloway sub-principall,..of the College of Auld Abirdene.

1600 in P. J. Anderson Fasti Acad. Mariscallanae Aberdonensis (1889) I. 79 As to be Principall of the Colledge of Fraserbrughe.

1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 148 In 1546 he was made Principal of St. Maries Hall.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) The chief person in some of the Inns of Chancery is also called Principal of the House.

1768 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. (at cited word) The university of Glasgow is at present composed of a chancellor, rector, dean of faculty, principal, and thirteen professors.

1821 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 8 Dec. 3/3 Dr. Mason, who has been appointed principal of Dickenson College, Carlisle, preached his farewell sermon.

1883 Times 27 Oct. 7/2 The Principal of the University College of South Wales..last evening delivered an inaugural address to students.

1900 Kelly's Oxford Directory 106/1 Lady Margaret Hall..founded in 1879 for the higher education of women... Lady Principal, Miss Elizabeth Wordsworth.

1966 Cal. King's Coll. London 1966–7 23 The vigorous and statesmanlike A. C. Headlam (later bishop of Gloucester) became principal of King's College in 1903.

1990 Times Educ. Suppl. 28 Dec. 1/2 The principal of a big Midlands college said..that he had five instructors doing the same job as lecturers.

d. A fully-qualified practitioner in a professional business, esp. a legal or medical partnership; one of the senior partners in a company, organization, or firm.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > non-manual worker > businessman > [noun] > partner > types of partner

sleeping partner1785

latent partner1791

principal1806

special partner1811

silent partner1818

limited partner1824

sleeper1901

limited1953

1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London I. ii. 43 [He] attended the banking-house in the capacity of a pupil, who was hereafter to become a principal in the concern.

1901 Dict. National Biogr. at Chapleau, Sir Joseph Adolphe He then entered into partnership with his former principals and began to practise at the Montreal bar.

1938 Times 31 Oct. 20 Mr G. F. Hallam, principal in the firm of Messrs. E. G. Clark and Hallam, solicitors, of Lancaster.

1975 Law (Employment Service Agency: Careers and Occupational Information Centre) 8 The principal with whom he has served his articles or apprenticeship may offer him an opening.

1996 Pulse 20 Apr. 3/5 Ageing principals, the growth in part-timers and a shortage of GP registrars meant there were twice as many vacancies in rural Scotland.

2006 Washington Post 22 Nov. A5 ‘The farmers are innocent victims,’ said..a principal at Gray, Ritter & Graham PC, the St. Louis law firm that filed the largest suit.

e. The headmaster or headmistress of a school.rare in Britain, but common in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and other English-speaking regions (in U.S. use sometimes as a prefixed title).

ΘΚΠ

society > education > teaching > teacher > schoolteacher or schoolmaster > [noun] > head teacher

rector1434

provost1442

headmaster1576

regent1583

gymnasiarch1682

headmistress1730

headteacher1758

principal1827

archididascalus1844

head1889

1827 S. Rodman in B. Swan New Bedford in 1827 (1935) 3/2 I visited the High School, Wm. Johnson, principal.

1833 Cent. Mag. 30 780/1 I am, sir..permitted to be the Principal of the Canterbury, (Conn.) Female Boarding School.

1848 W. M. Thackeray Bk. Snobs v. 21 The Reverend Otto Rose, D.D., Principal of the Preparatory Academy for young noblemen and gentlemen,..took this little Lord in hand.

1895 Chicago Tribune 17 Jan. 5/2 Dr. Pekoon, Professor of Biology in the Lake View High School, and Mr. Norton, Principal, met yesterday.

1949 Lubbock (Texas) Morning Avalanche 23 Feb. i. 10/6 Price was named to the position of principal of the new school.

1987 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 14 June 13/1 Brisbane State High School principal Mr Ray Fitzgerald admits to being a bit of a bower bird.

1997 M. Groening et al. Simpsons: Compl. Guide 109/1 Meanwhile, Bart pelts Principal Skinner with a tomato.

2005 National Rev. 12 Sept. 59 Reporters gleaned the information that Jonathan had had to repeat his junior year at high school, that he had quarreled with the school principal, [etc.].

f. (Sometimes with capital initial.) In Great Britain: a civil servant of the grade below Secretary.No longer a standard term in the civil service.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > civil service > [noun] > civil servant > specific grades of British

permanent secretary1785

abstracter1857

abstractor1859

permanent under-secretary1859

principal1867

second division1897

abstractor clerk1901

permsec1908

secretary1932

Perm.S.1942

under-secretary1959

1867 Times 6 May 9/6 The Civil Service... Excise Branch... Mr. J. Bell..has been promoted to be deputy principal of the laboratory at the chief office.

1890 A. E. Housman Let. 9 Oct. (1971) 28 The position as Principal held by Mr Webb would give him a status not justified..by length of service.

1915 F. G. Heath Brit. Civil Service xxii. 230 The salaries are as under: Twelve Analysts (Second Class), £160 by £15 annually to £350;..one Deputy Principal, £700 by £25 to £800; and one Principal Chemist, £1200, and after five years.., £1500 per annum.

1951 T. A. Critchley Civil Service Today ii. 38 Under these high officials..are the assistant secretaries, in charge of divisions, and principals, in charge of sections.

1967 Times Rev. Industry Feb. 100/2 The full time staff is small... Of these five are ‘principals’—as the Civil Service calls executives.

2005 Gloucestershire Echo (Nexis) 22 Feb. 8 Having spent 35 years in the civil service, at every grade up to and including principal, I thought I had heard, seen or used all manner of jargon and waffle possible.

2. A chief actor or doer; a principal agent.

a. The person chiefly responsible for some action, an initiator or leader; spec. (Law) a person directly responsible for a crime, either as actual perpetrator, or as present, aiding and abetting, at the commission of it (opposed to accessary). Cf. sense A. 8.principal in the first or second degree: see degree n. 6d.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > criminality > criminal person > [noun] > performer

principalc1325

society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > one who presides > over an institution or society

governora1325

principalc1325

master1389

warden1575

president1664

prime minister1694

premier1784

society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > a criminal or law-breaker > actual perpetrator of crime

principalc1325

perp1968

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10204 (MED) Þe bissop of londone..& þe bissop of hereuorde..Of þis mansinge were principals.

1414 Rolls of Parl. IV. 57/2 I was endited of trespace as an accessorie, and not endited as a principal.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) xix. 13 The lord the Soullis schyr Wilȝam Off that purches had mast defame, For principale [1487 St. John's Cambr. principall] thar-off was he Off assent of that cruelte.

1528 Acts Parl. Scotl. II. 323/1 And quhill the principale be convicte thare cann nane vthire be convicte of assistance.

1572 J. Leslie Copie Let. out of Scotl. f. 37^v Ihon Hepborne the Earle Bothwelles man (who with certaine others that had in deede bene presente at the murder, was executed, for a face of iustice, and to remoue suspicion from the principals).

1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. G2^v To prison was I sent as principall, and my master as accessarie.

a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 18 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) By the common Law, the accessaries cannot be proceeded against, till the principall have received his tryall.

1612 W. Strachey Lawes in P. Force Tracts (1844) III. 21 No man shall dare to kill, or destroy any Bull..without leaue from the Generall, upon paine of death in the Principall, and in the accessary, burning in the Hand.

a1634 E. Coke Institutes (1644) III. lxiv. 138 All agree, that procurors of such treason to be done before the fact done, if after the fact be done accordingly, in case of treason, are principals, for that they are participes criminis in the very act of counterfeiting.

1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 149 I then reproach'd my self with the Liberties I had taken, and how I had been a Snare to this Gentleman, and that indeed I was principal in the Crime.

1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. iii. 34 A man may be principal in an offence in two degrees.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1871) I. v. 312 In cases of felony, a distinction..is made between the principal and the accessory after the fact.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 114/1 The law of Scotland makes no distinction between the accessory to any crime and the principal.

1964 S. Bellow Herzog (1965) 235 The principals in an attempted robbery appeared at the bar.

1999 W. Soyinka Burden of Memory i. 87 So let this be a concerted preliminary step in Reparations—an act that acknowledges the guilt of accessories and makes restitution to the victims of the principals.

b. A person for whom another is surety; a person who is primarily liable for a debt.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > financial dealings > borrowing money > [noun] > borrower > for whom another is surety

principal1453

1453 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 403 The forsaid Andrew..and Richard..borowes..enterit the said David..and David..personali.., neuertheles the said principales, David..and David.., wald noght [etc.].

1576 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 545 We Alexander Arbuthnot merchand, and Thomas Bassinden imprentair..bindis and oblissis us, conjunctlie and severalie as principallis; David Guthrie [etc.] as souirteis conjunctlie and severalie.

1607 Fayre Mayde of Exchange sig. D3 The debt was none of mine, I was a suretie, not the principall.

1652 Z. Boyd in Munimenta Alme Univ. Glasguensis (1854) I. 308 The foirsaids persones principallis and catiounaris.

1789 W. Brown Rep. Cases Chancery II. 581 The defendant..insisted upon the benefit of the said plaintiff's bond, and that he was to be deemed a principal and not a surety.

1802 Ld. Eldon in Vesey's Rep. VI. 734 But the surety is a guarantee; and it is his business to see, whether the principal pays, and not that of the creditor.

1891 Law Times Rep. 63 765/1 The defendants were liable as principals, as they had contracted in their own names.

1956 Times 12 June 16/3 The words ‘primarily responsible’, in his Lordship's view, meant liable in the same sense as it did between a principal and a surety, both of whom were equally liable to the creditor as between themselves.

1999 B. A. Garner Handbk. Business Law Terms 471 Principal... The person who has primary responsibility on an obligation, as opposed to the surety or indorser.

c. Either of the main combatants in a duel or fight, esp. as distinguished from the seconds. Now archaic or historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > warrior > [noun] > champion or fighter in single combat

campionc1320

defendantc1450

combatant1489

appellant1520

defender?c1525

principal1590

duellist1593

champion1597

combater1598

dueller1614

battailant1620

pistol man1784

monomachist1828

1590 W. Segar Bk. Honor & Armes v. 23 No reason bindeth that the Padrine should fight..sith the Iniuries..and Defiances are passed betweene the Principalls, and the Padrins ought doo none otherwise than as Aduocates.

1635 J. Reynolds Triumphs Gods Revenge (new ed.) iv. xix. 380 Their principals shall search the seconds, and the seconds the principals, to see whether their doublets were any more then sword proofe.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 39. ¶22 Modish came with his Friend to the Place of Combat; there the Principals put on their Pumps.

1743 Broughton's Rules in P. Egan Boxiana (1812–13) I. 51 In every main battle, no person whatever shall be upon the stage, except the principals and their seconds.

1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well III. iii. 51 Your principal, I presume, is Sir Bingo Binks?.. I have not forgotten that there is an unfortunate affair between us.

1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) ii. 23 ‘We may place our men, then, I think,’ observed the officer, with as much indifference as if the principals were chess-men, and the seconds players.

1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc Hist. Ten Years II. 232 The principals were placed at forty paces from each other, and were to fire as they advanced.

1946 S. J. Perelman Keep it Crisp 161 The Times did not divulge the outcome of the spat, but I presume the principals invoked the code duello and pelted each other with Nesselrode pudding until the weaker cried uncle.

1997 Washington Post (Nexis) 12 Nov. h1 Each combatant was accompanied by a second who was to ensure that the duel was fought honestly and correctly..and, if necessary, shoot a principal who flouted the code.

d. The chief person or party engaged in some transaction, business, or function, esp. in relation to another who acts as an agent or representative; the person for whom and by whose authority another acts.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > delegated authority > investing with delegated authority > [noun] > one who gives a commission > one who appoints an agent or deputy

constituent1622

principal1625

deputera1641

deputator1669

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 298 Those that are Seconds in Factions, doe many times..proue Principals.

1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ i. xxxviii. 76 Their Factors live in better Equippage, and in a more splendid manner, as in all Italy besides, then their Masters and Principalls in London.

1654 Pell Let. to Secr. Thurloe 29 July in Vaughan Protectorate O. Cromwell (1838) I. 35 He will say, ‘I shall report this your answer to my principals’, that is to those that sent me... It is a form of speaking not yet in fashion in England.

1707 London Gaz. No. 4368/2 The Deputy was dismissed with no other Reply than, That they would send an Answer to his Principals in due Time.

1711 J. Swift Conduct of Allies 21 We engaged in this War as Principals, when we ought to have acted only as Auxiliaries.

1788 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 496 The functions of the vice-consul would become dormant during the presence of his principal.

1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon (at cited word) He who being competent and sui juris to do any act for his own benefit or on his own account, employs another person to do it, is called the principal, constituent, or employer, and he who is thus employed is called the agent, attorney, proxy, or delegate.

1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker ix. 147 I have the honour to explain to you, sir..fifty thousand was the figure named by my principal.

1962 H. O. Beecheno Introd. Business Stud. xiii. 117 Whereas an agent is not normally allowed to relend his principal's money at interest..a bank is allowed to do this.

1991 Economist 23 Nov. 143/3 Stockbrokers in Tokyo still enjoy fixed broking commissions. They act as agents, rather than as principals.

2004 New Yorker 8 Nov. 46/2 A principal-agent relationship arises whenever one person (the principal) delegates authority to another person (the agent) to act in his interest.

e. Any of the solo, leading, or principal performers in a play, opera, concert, ballet, etc. (esp. as distinguished from the chorus or ensemble).

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > [noun] > soloist

principal1840

soloist1864

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > performer > [noun] > types of performer > star or principal

star1808

co-star1888

starlet1910

television star1931

principal1936

vedette1963

1840 Times 30 Apr. 5/4 Principals, chorus, and orchestra combining to portray collectively the workings of one mind.

1842 Times 6 Oct. 3/3 At the conclusion, the principals were called for amid very loud applause.

1881 W. H. Stone in Grove Dict. Music III. 32/1 Principals, in modern musical language, are the solo singers or players in a concert.

1920 P. G. Wodehouse Little Warrior xi. 188 Principals and chorus rehearse together, running through the entire piece over and over again.

1936 N. Streatfeild Ballet Shoes xiv. 212 The production was on a very large scale... The principals became unduly important.

1976 National Observer (U.S.) 8 May 20/3 To add to my discomfort, I found the voices of the principals, Michael Cristofer and Tyne Daly, distinctly unpleasant.

1991 Opera News Sept. 55/3 Director Petrika Ionesco allowed room for his principals..to register as characters, and they responded with a seriousness that transcended the naive plot and libretto.

2001 Independent 19 July ii. 1/6 Both of the principals act their socks off, in every sense.

II. Denoting chief, main, or principal things.

3. The original sum of money dealt with in any transaction, as distinguished from any later accretions; the sum lent or invested upon which interest is paid; (hence) capital as distinguished from income. Also figurative. Cf. sense A. 6.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > financial dealings > types of money-dealing > [noun] > provision of capital > capital or principal

cattlec1330

chief moneyc1390

principal1390

chattel1502

stock1526

capital1569

capital stock1569

nest-egg1801

corpus1844

1390 in J. Raine Corr., Inventories, Acct. Rolls, & Law Proc. Priory of Coldingham (1841) 65 (MED) We wylle garre rayse till us alle the fermes and the profittes of Coldynghame, quylle we be assethit als wele for owr scathes and owr costages as of our principale.

1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) iv. xxi. sig. z.i The other it receyue ouer the pryncypall for to kepe hym, & to recompense hym the dammage.

1571 Act 13 Eliz. c. 8 §4 So muche as shal be reserved by way of Usurie above the Principall for any Money so to be lent.

1641 in L. B. Taylor Aberdeen Council Lett. (1950) II. 275 The haill soumes, principall, liquidat expensses, and annualrentes.

1693 J. Dryden tr. Persius Satires vi. 83 Put out the Principal..Live of the Use.

1728 T. Sheridan tr. Persius Satyrs 93 But you have broke in upon the Principal. That I did for my own Use.

1777 J. Sayer Law Costs (ed. 2) 203 The Executor moved..for Leave to pay the Principal and Interest due upon the Bond, and the Costs of the original Action.

1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I ccxiii. 109 I Have spent my life, both interest and principal.

1827 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) I. 129 The sum of the principal and its interest added together, is called the Amount.

1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd II. xi. 127 ‘You'll never see Fanny Robin no more—use nor principal—ma'am.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because she's dead in the Union.’

1908 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 1 523 To hold as well the capital or principal of the said trust funds as the dividends, interest and annual income thereof upon the usual trusts for the children of the marriage.

1935 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (U.K. ed.) iii. 67 And the merchants and bankers, doctors and lawyers and dentists, who had money to play the market, continued to spend their principal.

1991 Fiscal Stud. Aug. 5 The nominal interest rate includes..some compensation to the lender for the fall in the real value of the principal.

†a. The chief or main part, point, or element of something. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > most important

moreOE

firstc1275

principala1393

chiefa1400

main chance1577

forefront1589

principal verb1602

centre of gravity1718

avatar1859

main stem1900

Big Apple1909

prima ballerina1923

centrepiece1937

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 1440 (MED) The science of Astronomie..principal is of clergie, To dieme betwen wo and wel In thinges that be naturel.

12 Concl. Lollards (Trin. Hall Cambr.) in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1907) 22 298 (MED) Fals beleue..is þe principal of þe deuelis craft.

a1450 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 64 (MED) The heued..To serue þe brayn is pryncypal.

c1450 J. Capgrave Solace of Pilgrims (Bodl. 423) (1911) 1 I schal not write but þat I fynde in auctores & þat is for a principall, or ellis þat I sey with eye and þat is for a secundari.

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccccxxvi. 748 They shulde take downe the leaues of the gates of the foure princypals of the cytie.

1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. x. sig. V4 That Vertue..Which..To preserue inuiolated right, Oft spilles the principall, to saue the part.

1611 W. Sclater Key to Key of Script. 40 I meane not to prosecute every particular at large; but to cull out the principals.

1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 21 A Quality is said to be an Accessory unto a Fact or Crime, which is the Principal.

1845 J. Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. (1847) I. 16/1 The words which are necessary for communicating the thought..may well be called principals, and those which only help to make out the thought more fully and distinctly may be called accessories.

†b. in principal: principally, chiefly; in the main. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adverb]

highlyOE

overalla1225

with the firstc1300

principally1340

principalc1390

in principala1393

chiefly14..

ratherestc1400

rathestc1400

primarily1587

kat' exochen1588

paravant1590

pre-eminently1590

primely1610

cardinally1631

transeminently1642

paramountly1798

par eminence1823

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 29 (MED) Aristotle..Declareth thilke intelligences As of thre pointz in principal.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 270 To take my pleasaunce with peramours..woll I refuse, in prencipall for drede of God, for knyghtes that bene adventures sholde nat be advoutrers.

1808 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) II. 410 Thanks to my friends, and to you in principal.

c. A primary or fundamental point of a subject, upon which the rest depend; = principle n.In most or all examples apparently identified with principle, or a misspelling of it; principal is common as a nonstandard spelling of principle from the 20th cent. onwards.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical reasoning > [noun] > deductivism or a priori reasoning > a principle or axiom

principlea1387

maximc1450

first principle1525

ground1528

principal1545

principium1550

protasis1572

theorem1588

postulate1590

axiom1593

groundsel1604

postulatuma1620

praecognitum1624

datum1646

self-evident1675

philosopheme1678

dictum of all and none1697

dictum of Aristotle1827

prius1882

ground rule1890

posit1900

1545 G. Joye Expos. Daniel Argt. f. 5^v Let euery diligent reder knowe hymselfe miche to haue profited, if he but the cheif principalls vnderstand, although it be but meanly.

1578 in A. Macdonald & J. Dennistoun Misc. Maitland Club (1833) I. 11 The principallis of astronomie.

1663 J. Heath Flagellum (ed. 2) 4 His Father..sent him to School to learn the Elements of Language and principals of Religion.

a1806 J. Barry in R. N. Wornum Lect. on Painting (1848) 158 A centre and a great uniting principal, which associates all parts of the composition.

1816 F. Accum Pract. Ess. Chem. Re-agents (1818) 51 The test combines with some principal of the body.

1893 G. Leveson-Gower Gloss. Surrey Words (at cited word) Get your wheat in forra'd, that's the principal.

5. The best item of movable property belonging to an estate, as bequeathed or inherited by custom. historical in later use.In quot. a1400: a bequest or funeral offering to the church.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > heritable property > best piece or pieces

principala1400

heirship movables1478

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 10750 (MED) She offred for hym to þe auter, Ful of wyne, a pecher, And a feyre lofe with-alle Euery day as for a pryncypalle.

1424 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 57 (MED) After my principal is taken, I wul my wyf haf my best ambeler.

1511 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 325 Forasmuch as taking of such principales is not by commene lawe, butt only by custume and usage.

1512 Will of Robert Batemanson in A. F. Leach Visitations & Memorials Southwell Minster (1891) 115 Item I bequeth my best horse for my principall.

1534 Southwell Visit. (Camden) 138 I gyffe and bequethe unto the vicar for my principall accordynge to the acte of parliament.

1670 T. Blount Νομο-λεξικον: Law-dict. Principal,..an Heir-lome.

1895 F. Pollock & F. W. Maitland Hist. Eng. Law II. ii. vi. §4. 361 There are many traces of local customs which under the name of ‘principals’ or ‘heirlooms’, will give him [sc. the heir-at-law] various chattels, not merely his ancestor's sword and hauberk, but the best chattel of every different kind, the best horse (if the church does not take it) and the best ox, the best chair and the best table, the best pan and the best pot.

1904 C. I. Elton Shakespeare 228 In the district of Archenfield..the lands were inherited by all the sons; but the eldest had certain customary ‘principals’, such as the best table, the best bed and furniture.

1942 Yale Law Jrnl. 51 1306 The custom of giving of heirlooms and principals to the eldest son, found..at least as late as the seventeenth century.

6. Building. A main rafter supporting purlins, which support the common rafters (also roof principal). Also: a main girder. Cf. sense A. 9 .

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > roof-beam > rafter > principal

couple1364

principal1445

lever1481

coupling1577

chevron1580

blade1855

1445 in J. H. Fisher et al. Anthol. Chancery Eng. (1984) 298 A new Rofe for ye same hous contenyng vj bemes vj wyndbemez vj principals.

1579 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 310 Braces to the principals eche of them xij foote longe.

1624 A. Wotton Runne from Rome 4 To trie how every tenant and mortuis is fitted each to other, what principals are too weake, which peeces are too long.

1777 T. Campbell Philos. Surv. S. Ireland xvi. 146 The remainder they lay parallel to the principals.

1863 Times 16 June 8/6 None of the roof-principals..were ever planed, they were put up rough from the saw.

1898 Westm. Gaz. 25 Mar. 7/2 Four massive iron principals (or girders) of a building in course of erection..fell yesterday afternoon.

1932 T. Corkhill Conc. Building Encycl. 146 Open roof, one in which the principals are on view. No ceiling.

1976 S. G. E. Lythe Econ. Scotl. 1550–1625 v. 144 Interiors were full of wood..for roof principals were left exposed in unashamed strength, and ceilings and walls were often lined with fir boards.

a. The original document, drawing, painting, etc., from which a copy is made; an original. Cf. sense A. 10. Scottish in later use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > originality or non-imitation > [noun] > an original

copy14..

principal1489

authentic1599

original1683

1489–90 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 145/1 Baithe the said partiis..subscriuit the principale of this compromes.

1523 M. A. E. Wood Lett. Royal & Illustrious Ladies (1816) I. 281 I send you here inclosed the instrument..; therefore I pray you keep it, for I have the principal.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lxxviij He shewed him the copie of the confederacie, promysing hym also the principall.

1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 43 Thou art of all This well-wrought Copy the faire Principall.

1660 S. Pepys Diary 19 May (1970) I. 148 Another pretty piece of painting I saw, of which there was a great wager laid by young Pinkny and I whether it was a principal or a copy.

1714 W. Forbes Jrnl. Session 1705–13 200 It was a Principal and not a Copy of the Contract was produced in the Process of Constitution.

1769 State Evid. in Cause Duke of Hamilton 365 Possibly it [sc. the folding and sealing of documents] may have been done, that in case the principals may have been lost, the copies might serve in their stead.

1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 368 Although the principals are returned to the parties, extracts from the record of sasines..are declared to be probative in all cases.

1928 Encycl. Laws Scotl. VI. 421 Official extracts from the Books of Council and Session, Registers of Sasines, and Sheriff Court Books are equivalent to the principals.

1964 A. Walker & N. Walker Law of Evidence 240 It is competent in civil litigation..for the parties to agree to accept a copy as equivalent to the principal.

†b. An origin, a source. Cf. principle n. 1. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > [noun]

welleOE

mothereOE

ordeOE

wellspringeOE

fathereOE

headeOE

oreOE

wellspringOE

rootc1175

morea1200

beginningc1200

head wella1325

sourcec1374

principlea1382

risinga1382

springinga1382

fountain14..

springerc1410

nativity?a1425

racinea1425

spring1435

headspring?a1439

seminaryc1440

originationc1443

spring wellc1450

sourdre1477

primordialc1487

naissance1490

wellhead?1492

offspringa1500

conduit-head1517

damc1540

springhead1547

principium1550

mint1555

principal1555

centre1557

head fountain1563

parentage1581

rise1589

spawna1591

fount1594

parent1597

taproot1601

origin1604

fountainhead1606

radix1607

springa1616

abundary1622

rist1622

primitive1628

primary1632

land-spring1642

extraction1655

upstart1669

progenerator1692

fontala1711

well-eye1826

first birth1838

ancestry1880

Quelle1893

1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. i. 27 To Jupiter also thei Sacrificed, & did honour as to y^e principall of life [L. Vitali spiritui etiam sub Iovis appellatione..divinos honores tribuere].

c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) i. 18 For heresie, Scisme, Puritanisme, Brownisme, papistrie,..Proceed from thee, thou art the principall.

†8. The head, the top. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > high position > [noun] > highest point or top

headOE

copa1000

heightOE

topc1000

highestlOE

crest1382

coperounc1400

summita1425

summity?a1425

toppet1439

altitude?a1475

upperest1484

principala1533

pitcha1552

supremity1584

culm1587

period1595

spire1600

upward1608

cope1609

fastigium1641

vertex1641

culmen1646

supreme1652

tip-top1702

peak1785

helm1893

altaltissimo1975

a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1537) xlviii. f. 93 In the principall of the sayd table was pictured a Bulle.

†9. An upright pillar or stem having branches to bear tapers, formerly used on a catafalque or hearse (hearse n. 2). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > death > obsequies > funeral equipment > [noun] > elaborate framework > parts of

principal1548

ratchment1557

the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > support or holder for a candle > [noun] > candelabrum

branch1525

principal1548

candle-branch1599

lustre1682

chandelier1736

pharos1806

candelabrum1815

cluster-candlestick1859

lampadary1885

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. j^v A curious herse, made of .ix. principalles, full of lightes.

1555 H. Machyn Diary (1848) 90 The xvij day of Juin was the hersse fenyssyd at Powles a-boyffe the qwyer with ix presepalles garnyshyd.

1594 in Coll. Top. & Gen. (1837) IV. 286 This..Bishope of Norwiche was buried with a hearse of foure pryncypales or vprightes.

1735 A. Collins Peerage Eng. II. 37 At Ormskirk in Lancashire..was a stately Hearse erected of five Principals, 30 Foot of Heighth, 12 Foot of Length, and 9 Foot of Breadth.

1763 W. Guthrie Compl. Hist. Eng. Peerage I. 40 Also within the bars was made a hearse with five principals, which bore seven hundred lights.

1849 D. Rock Church our Fathers II. 496 These uprights [of a hearse of lights], technically called ‘principals’.

†10. Falconry. Either of the two outermost primary feathers in each wing. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [noun] > wing or wings > feather(s) on > primary feather(s) > outermost

principal1575

standard1859

1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 120 Then cutte off some part of hir two principalles in eache wing.

1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Ep. Ded. So finally flyeth this our new Poete, as a bird, whose principals be scarce growen out.

1674 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation ii. 100 Every falcon ought to have a Make-Hawk, to teach her to hold in the Head: if that will not doe, cut off some part of her two Principals in each Wing.

1891 J. E. Harting Bibliotheca Accipitraria Principals, the two longest feathers in the wing of a hawk.

11. Music.

†a. The subject of a fugue or other contrapuntal piece, as distinguished from the answer or ‘reply’. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > type of piece > piece in specific form > [noun] > fugue > subject

principal1597

dux1740

guide1753

proposition1876

subject2005

diminished subject-

1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 105 The first [sort of double descant] is, when the principall (that is the thing as it is firste made) and the replie..are sung changing the partes.

1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett Dict. Musical Terms 366/1 Principal, the subject of a fugue, the answer being termed the Reply.

b. An organ stop of the same quality as the open diapason, but an octave higher in pitch. Also (with modifying word) applied to other stops an octave higher than the ordinary pitch, as dulciana principal (see dulciana n., dulcet n. 2). small principal n. now historical a stop two octaves higher than the open diapason; now called fifteenth.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > stop > diapason tone stops > principal

principal1613

small principal1613

octave1716

octave stop1730

subprincipal1825

super-octave1884

1613 in C. Beswick Organs Worcester Cathedral (2004) 5 The particulars of the great organ... Two principals of mettal. Two Smal principals or 15ths of metal. One twelfth of mettal.

1613 in C. Beswick Organs Worcester Cathedral (2004) 5 In the Chaire Organ One principal of mettal, One flute of wood One Small principal or fiftenth of mettal.

1776 J. Hawkins Gen. Hist. Music IV. i. §10. 46 The simple stops are the..Principal..and some others.

1789 Organ Specif. Greenwich Hosp. in G. Grove Dict. Music (1880) II. 598/1 Swell Organ. Open Diapason. Stopped Diapason. Dulciana. Principal. Dulciana Principal.

1881 J. Broadhouse Student's Helmholtz 219 The principal is a stop of four feet in length.

1999 New Straits Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 12 Apr. (Arts section) 3 The Diapason or the Principal is an open metal pipe which gives the very typical organ sound.

2001 New Grove Dict. Music (Online ed.) at Organ stop Early contracts qualify it [sc. the fifteenth] as ‘small principal’.

†c. The name of a trumpet part used in the scores of Handel; the trumpet itself. Obsolete.Probably never used in English except in this context. Grove Dict. Music (2001) at Principale notes: ‘A trumpet register and a style of playing from the 16th century to the 18th... The terms ‘Principale’ (the register) and ‘Principalblasen’ (playing in the principale register) were German, and were not used in other countries.’

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > brass instruments > [noun] > trumpet > types of

lilting-hornc1384

claranerc1410

clarinec1440

trumpet1440

sordine1591

sordine trumpet1616

clarion1621

alchemy1667

sourdinea1678

jubil-trumpet1715

lituus1776

sea-trumpet1776

penny trumpet1783

salpinx1865

principal1876

valve trumpet1877

tuba1882

kakaki1932

zugtrompete1978

vuvuzela2003

1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett Dict. Musical Terms 366/1 Principal, the name given by Handel to the third trumpet in the ‘Dettingen Te Deum’.

1881 W. H. Stone in Grove Dict. Music III. 32/1 Principal or Prinzipale, a term employed in many of Handel's scores for the third trumpet part... It is obvious that whereas the tromba..represented the old small-bored instrument now obsolete,..the Principal..more nearly resembled the modern large-bored military trumpet.

†C. adv.

Principally, chiefly; in the first place, most of all. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adverb]

highlyOE

overalla1225

with the firstc1300

principally1340

principalc1390

in principala1393

chiefly14..

ratherestc1400

rathestc1400

primarily1587

kat' exochen1588

paravant1590

pre-eminently1590

primely1610

cardinally1631

transeminently1642

paramountly1798

par eminence1823

c1390 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 146 But ȝit me merueyles ouer al Þat God let mony mon croke and elde..Þat þei may not hem-self a-welde; And now þis beggers most principal, Þat good ne profyt may non ȝelde.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 61 (MED) Of Theorique principal The Philosophre in special The propretees hath determined.

a1425 Templum Domini in R. Cornelius Figurative Castle (Ph.D. diss., Bryn Mawr Coll.) (1930) 104 (MED) If a man in his entent Will loue any thynge gret or smalle..Þat thynge he will chese princypale.

a1525 Coventry Leet Bk. 288 For the wele of the kyng & you hertely pray I shall, And for prince Edwarde, my gostly chylde, whom I love principall.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 2895 Of what lond were þo louely, hit list hom to wete, And prinsipall of Parys.

a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 53/23 He suspectit principall James Kennidie bischope of Sanctandrois.

Compounds

principal boy n. the leading male role in a pantomime, usually played by a woman; an actress playing this role.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > pantomime > [noun] > role or character

hobby-horse1557

harlequin1590

play-mare1598

Columbinea1723

clown1727

hobby1778

pantaloon1781

harlequiness1785

Pierrot?1789

pierrette1847

harlequina1867

dobby1879

principal boy1892

principal girl1893

dame1902

1892 Times 21 Nov. 3/3 The defendant..entered into a contract with the plaintiff to take the part of principal boy in his pantomime of Aladdin.

1896 Pall Mall Mag. Oct. 302/1 She was still playing principal boy in the pantomime—a gay, gallant Prince, in plumed cap and tights.

1901 R. J. Broadbent Hist. Pantomime xxi. 224 Towards the close of the 'fifties..the character of Harlequin began to be played by women, the origin of what is now known as the ‘principal boy’.

1932 D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase xv. 201 Airy-fairy-Lilian they used to call me when I was principal boy in old Rosenbaum's shows.

2001 Guardian 20 Jan. (Weekend Suppl.) 3/1 In recent years, we have seen the decline of the Principal Boy, traditionally played by an attractive, athletic girl with extremely good gams.

principal challenge n. Law (now rare) a challenge against a jury, or against a particular juror, alleging a fact that, if proved, would disqualify such jury or juror as a matter of law.In quot. 1607 with slightly different sense; apparently = peremptory challenge n. at peremptory adj. 1b.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > [noun] > enrolment of jury > objection against jurymen

peremptory exception1413

peremptory challenge1530

peremptory1606

principal challenge1702

1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. M4^v/2 Challenge principall (otherwise..called peremptorie) is that, which the lawe alloweth without cause alledged, or farder examination.]

1702 W. Bohun Privilegia Londini 180 His real or personal Estate shall be worth 100 Marks, and the Jurors defect herein is a principal Challenge.

1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. xxiii. 363 A principal challenge is such, where the cause assigned carries with it prima facie evident marks of suspicion, either of malice or favour.

1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. ii. iii. 354 Where there are manifest reasons of suspecting partiality..in which case the challenge is called a principal challenge.

1978 Stanford Law Rev. 30 491 The ‘principal’ challenge was allowed as a matter of course upon a showing that the sheriff, who chose the jury, was related to one of the parties by blood or affinity.

1994 D. S. Campbell Free Press v. Fair Trial 9 These are called principal challenges..because the partiality of the potential jurors is clear to all.

principal component n. Statistics the linear combination of the components of a set of data (regarded as points in a multidimensional space) which contributes most strongly to the variance of the set; frequently attributive (in singular or plural), designating a method of analysis which involves finding the principal component and removing the variance due to it, and repeating this operation successively.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > distribution > variability or spread > measures of > relating to variance

heteroscedasticity1905

homoscedasticity1905

covariance1931

communality1933

principal component1933

1933 H. Hotelling in Jrnl. Educ. Psychol. 34 421 We..determine the components, not exceeding n in number, and perhaps neglecting those whose contributions to the total variance are small. This we shall call the method of principal components.

1963 R. R. Sokal & P. H. A. Sneath Numerical Taxon. vii. 195 Two different methods of factor analysis are customarily practiced: the principal components method is largely employed by British factor analysts.

1994 Observatory 114 98 Stephen Fossey..described the use of Principal Component Analysis as a technique for describing the relationships between variables in a sample of multivariate data.

principal diagonal n. Mathematics (in a determinant or square matrix) the line of elements running diagonally from the upper left to the lower right corner.

ΚΠ

1862 G. Boole in Philos. Trans. (Royal. Soc.) 152 235 It is desirable to employ fixed language in referring to this. We shall therefore call the quantities A₁, A₂..A_n the ‘principal elements’, and the diagonal series of terms which they form the ‘principal diagonal’.

1964 N. N. Hancock Matrix Anal. Electr. Machinery ii. 18 A ‘scalar’ matrix is a diagonal matrix in which all the elements on the principal diagonal are equal.

2003 Jrnl. Devel. Econ. 72 347 The coefficients are normalised with a value of one along the principal diagonal of the matrix.

principal focus n. Optics the focus of rays that strike a lens or spherical mirror parallel to its axis.

ΚΠ

1672 I. Newton in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 7 5085 This Table shews, how much the exterior rays, at several Apertures, fall short of their principal focus.

a1764 J. Harris Treat. Optics (1775) i. 60 An object placed nearer a convex lens..than its principal focus..will have no real image.

1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. xxxv. 415 The focus into which parallel rays are collected, or from which they are made to diverge, is called the principal focus of a surface or substance.

1939 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. 29 253 The light from an electric bulb, rendered nearly parallel by a condenser, filled a large lens at whose principal focus the eye was placed.

1985 R. Muncaster A-level Physics (ed. 2) xix. 314 The focal point (principal focus) of a converging lens is that point, on the principal axis of the lens, to which rays of light which are parallel and close to the axis converge after refraction at the surfaces of the lens.

principal girl n. the leading female role in a pantomime; an actress playing this role.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > pantomime > [noun] > role or character

hobby-horse1557

harlequin1590

play-mare1598

Columbinea1723

clown1727

hobby1778

pantaloon1781

harlequiness1785

Pierrot?1789

pierrette1847

harlequina1867

dobby1879

principal boy1892

principal girl1893

dame1902

1893 H. F. McLelland Jack & Beanstalk 11 She's Jill, our ‘principal girl’, the gallery's joy.

1897 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 23 Jan. 88/1 Why..is the ‘principal boy’ expected to be more vulgar than the principal girl?

1962 Oxf. Mail 24 Dec. 6/6 He met his wife in pantomime at Lincoln. ‘She was the principal girl, Maid Marion. I was just one of the bad robbers.’

2005 Herald Express (Torquay) (Nexis) 17 Jan. 18 A principal girl who looks good and can sing and act well, who could fail to be enchanted by her?

principal ideal n. Mathematics an ideal (ideal n. 4) all of whose elements can be generated by multiplying a given member of the associated ring by each member (including itself) in turn.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > set > in abstract algebra > ring

ideal1898

principal ideal1901

ring1915

subring1917

skew field1965

1901 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 23 70 Determining whether a given principal ideal be the p^th power of a principal ideal, where p is a prime number.

1965 J. J. Rotman Theory of Groups iv. 66 A principal ideal domain is a domain in which every ideal is a principal ideal.

1970 D. M. Burton First Course in Rings & Ideals ii. 19 An ideal (a) generated by just one ring element is termed a principal ideal.

principal ideal ring n. Mathematics a ring (ring n.¹ 15) in which every ideal is a principal ideal.

ΚΠ

1937 A. A. Albert Mod. Higher Algebra xi. 255 Every two quantities of a principal ideal ring have a greatest common divisor.

1996 R. Gandy in A. F. Clark et al. Legacy Alan Turing vii. 132 Unique factorization in principal ideal rings.

principal investigator n. the leading researcher or scientist on a collaborative, typically grant-funded research project; the leader of a team of researchers; abbreviated PI.Recorded earlier with the general sense ‘most important investigator’.

ΚΠ

1825 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 9 281 Tilden's plants, in the Sherardian Herbarium, are from Moosefactory, near the bottom of Hudson's Bay... On the northwest coast, Mr. Menzies has been the principal investigator.]

1906 R. S. Woodward Rep. of President in Carnegie Inst. Washington Year Bk. 21 There have been about three hundred and sixty men and women at work under grants during the past year... They may be classified departmentally as shown in the following list, which gives..the names of the principal investigators conducting these works of research.

1985 M. Parfit South Light (1988) xvi. 197 The two men were friends, but you knew who was the grad student, who was the Principal Investigator.

2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 2 Feb. a14/4 The study's principal investigator..identified what he called the ‘poverty penalty’, pointing out that the working poor were far more likely to have lost income since the storm.

principal normal n. Geometry the normal drawn to a given point on a curve and located in the plane containing the direction of curvature at that point.

ΚΠ

a1832 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) II. 153 This normal, the direction of which is the limit of the direction of the line of junction, has been designated by the name of the principal normal.

1902 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 24 36 The tangent to the involute, the principal normal to the evolute and the tangent to the spherical indicatrix of the evolutes, are parallel lines.

1999 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 455 3164 Directional derivatives in the tangential, principal normal and binormal directions.

principal quantum number n. Physics the quantum number symbolized by n (see N n. 6c), which determines the orbital energy of an electron (to the first order) and takes positive integral values.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > [noun] > quantum number

quantum number1902

quantum defect1915

principal quantum number1922

magnetic quantum number1923

1922 A. D. Udden tr. N. Bohr Theory of Spectra iii. i. 67 This quantum number which will always be denoted by n will therefore be called the ‘principal quantum number’ [Da. Hovedkvantetallet].

1973 J. G. Tweeddale Materials Technol. I. ii. 23 A specific maximum possible number of orientations of orbital pattern..is possible for each mode, the number being determined by the relevant Principal Quantum Number.

1994 Nature 25 Aug. 593/1 They expect that they will be able to do this only if the electrons are relatively far from the nucleus, meaning that they will have a principal quantum number, n, that is relatively large, or that the atom is in a Rydberg state.

principal photography n. Film and Television the phase of film or television production during which the main scenes, involving the principal cast, are filmed; (also) the filming of such scenes.Often contrasted with pre-production n. 2 and post-production n.; also contrasted with supplementary filming carried out by the second unit (second unit n. at second adj. and n.² Additions) and with pickup shots (pickup shot n. at pickup n. and adj. Compounds 3) and reshoots (reshoot n. 2b).

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > [noun] > main phase of filming

principal photography1948

1948 Motion Picture Herald 3 Jan. 35/2 ‘Joan’, Sierra Pictures'..life of Joan of Arc, completed principal photography, after being before the cameras since September 16.

1982 Film Comment Sept. 71/1 Jean Negulesco was assigned to direct the funeral train footage, with the remainder of principal photography to be done by Hawks.

2009 Times 18 July (Sat. Review) 2/2 Principal photography has just begun in Hong Kong for The Kung Fu Kid.

principal ray n. †(a) Perspective the straight line from the point of sight normal to the plane of delineation or to the eye (obsolete); (b) Optics a ray passing through or reflected at the centre of a lens or mirror, or passing through the centre of the entrance pupil.

ΚΠ

1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. at Plane Vertical Plane, in Opticks and Perspective, is a Plain Surface which passeth along the Principal Ray, and consequently thro' the Eye, and is perpendicular to the Geometrical Plane.

a1830 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) III. 454/2 On account of this property, the ray OI is called the principal ray... The principal ray would be that which entered or emerged at the summit of the curvature.

1838 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 128 387 Some have maintained..that the visible direction of an object coincides with the visual ray, or the principal ray of the pencil which flows from it to the eye.

1970 M. Born & E. Wolf Princ. Optics (ed. 4) iv. 186 There will be a ray which passes through the centre of the entrance pupil. This special ray is known as the principal ray (also the chief or the reference ray) of the pencil.

2002 E. Hecht Optics (ed. 4) iv. 266/2 One exception is the case in which the aperture stop is at the lens, so that the chief ray is, in effect, the principal ray.

principal section n. Crystallography the cross-section of a crystal containing its optic axis and the direction of a given ray of light.

ΚΠ

a1830 J. F. W. Herschel Light in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) IV. 516 The section A, then, (which..we will call the principal section of the mica plate,) is characterised by two remarkable lnes..along which, if a polarized ray be incident, its polarization will not be disturbed by the action of the plate.

1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 57/1 One [focal line] lies in the plane containing the principal ray and the axis of the system, i.e. in the ‘first principal section’ or ‘meridional section’, and the other at right angles to it, i.e. in the second principal section or sagittal section.

1976 Social Stud. Sci. 6 147 The orientation of these sides with respect to the crystal axis would determine whether the ray..became polarized parallel to or perpendicular to the principal section of the crystal.

principal stress n. Mechanics and Geology each of the three purely tensile or compressive stresses acting in mutually perpendicular directions into which any combination of stresses acting at a point can be resolved.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > stress or force exerted and tending to deform > [noun] > mutually perpendicular

principal stress1858

1858 W. J. M. Rankine Man. Appl. Mech. i. v. 94 The three conjugate normal stresses are called principal stresses, and their directions, principal axes of stress.

1944 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. vi. 78 The various types of faults depend on the relationships between the three principal stresses.

1990 P. Kearey & F. J. Vine Global Tectonics viii. 147 The principal stress directions show that the descending plate is thrown into either downdip compression or extension.

principal value n. [after French valeur principale ( A.-L. Cauchy Résumé des leçons données à l'Ecole Royale Polytechnique sur le calcul infinitésimal (1823) 96, with reference to integrals)] Mathematics a unique value, chosen by convention as the simplest or most important value, of a many-valued function such as an indefinite integral or an inverse sine.

ΚΠ

1857 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 147 779 The value of the integral obtained will be that which Cauchy terms its principal value.

1879 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 2 137 The principal value which h may assume is 1.

1961 C. C. T. Baker Dict. Math. 246 In the case of sin⁻¹x, the principal value is the angle between −½π and + ½π.

1989 Q. Jrnl. Mech. & Appl. Math. 42 186 The bar through the integral sign denotes the Cauchy principal value of the integral.

† principal verb n. Obsolete figurative the chief or most important thing or (occasionally) person.This metaphor seems likely to have arisen from the earlier widespread use of principal verb in its literal sense (see sense A. 7a) in pedagogical grammars from at least the early 15th cent.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > most important

moreOE

firstc1275

principala1393

chiefa1400

main chance1577

forefront1589

principal verb1602

centre of gravity1718

avatar1859

main stem1900

Big Apple1909

prima ballerina1923

centrepiece1937

1602 R. Parsons Warn-word iv. xiv. f. 115 Immediatly after the words in Durand..followeth Gregorius tamen loquitur, but S. Gregory speaketh of them. This Syr Frauncis dasheth out, which was a principal verb in this matter.

1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale vii. 582 ‘Sirrah,’ Cambuscan lowrd, ‘all yee haue loste Your principale verbe (credite) which yee boste’.

1670 Remarks Present Condition Navy 18 The Quality of the Commodity is not considered, but the Gratuity given the Officer is the principal Verb.

1728 R. North Mem. Musick (1846) 80 The violin was scarce knowne tho' now the principall verb.

1794 J. Caulfield Portraits Mem. & Characters II. 159 It was found that [the highwayman known as] Mull'd-Sack was the principal verb in this matter.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	principal
释义	principaladj.n.adv. Brit. /ˈprɪnsᵻpl/, U.S. /ˈprɪnsəp(ə)l/ Forms: Middle English prencipale (northern), Middle English prencipall (northern), Middle English princepal, Middle English princepale, Middle English principalier (comparative), Middle English principaly (probably transmission error), Middle English princypale, Middle English princypalle, Middle English prinsepall, Middle English prinsipall (in a late copy), Middle English prinspal, Middle English prinspall, Middle English pryncepal, Middle English prynciall (transmission error), Middle English pryncipale, Middle English prynsipall, Middle English prynspal, Middle English–1500s princypal, Middle English–1500s pryncipal, Middle English–1500s pryncypall, Middle English–1500s pryncypalle, Middle English–1600s principale, Middle English–1600s principall, Middle English–1600s principalle, Middle English–1600s princypall, Middle English–1600s pryncipall, Middle English–1600s pryncypal, Middle English– principal, late Middle English– principle (now nonstandard), 1500s presepalles (plural, perhaps transmission error), 1500s princepall, 1500s principael, 1600s princopal, 1600s princseepalle, 1600s prineseepalle, 1600s prinseepalle, 1600s printipall (transmission error); also Scottish pre-1700 prencipale, pre-1700 prencipall, pre-1700 prencypall, pre-1700 prensepal, pre-1700 prensepall, pre-1700 prensepell, pre-1700 prensipall, pre-1700 prenspall, pre-1700 prensypall, pre-1700 princepale, pre-1700 princepall, pre-1700 princiepall, pre-1700 principaill, pre-1700 principale, pre-1700 principall, pre-1700 principell, pre-1700 principill, pre-1700 princypall, pre-1700 prinsipale, pre-1700 prinsipall, pre-1700 prinspail, pre-1700 pryncepall, pre-1700 pryncipaill, pre-1700 pryncipale, pre-1700 pryncipall, pre-1700 pryncipalle, pre-1700 prynsabyll, pre-1700 prynsepell, pre-1700 prynsipall, pre-1700 prynsuall (perhaps transmission error), pre-1700 1800s prencipal, 1800s prinncipal (Shetland). Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French princepal, principal; Latin principālis. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman princepal, principal, principall, principalle, prinsepal and Old French, Middle French principal (adjective) princely, royal (c1100 in Old French), chief, most important (early 12th cent. in Anglo-Norman with reference to things, late 12th cent. with reference to people), excellent, splendid (late 12th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), designating the chief person involved in a particular action or proceeding (late 13th cent. or earlier in legal use in Anglo-Norman), (noun) important and influential person (late 12th cent.), military leader (early 13th cent.), (usually in plural) order of angels in the celestial hierarchy (second quarter of the 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman in plural principez ), person who is directly responsible for an action, especially who is the main perpetrator of a crime (late 12th cent. or earlier in legal use in Anglo-Norman), person who is primarily liable for a debt (end of the 13th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), capital upon which interest is paid (early 14th cent. or earlier), chief matter, content, or object (early 14th cent. or earlier in legal use in Anglo-Norman, with reference to a plea; apparently not paralleled in continental French until later (first half of the 15th cent. or earlier)), head of a college (1549) and their etymon classical Latin principālis (adjective) basic, primary, original, first, most important, chief, princely, imperial, (in law) designating the chief person involved in a particular action or proceeding (2nd cent. a.d. in reus principālis chief defendant), in post-classical Latin also designating an original sum invested or lent (13th cent. in British sources), (of a document) original (1437 in a British source), (as masculine noun) leading citizen (2nd cent. a.d. in Apuleius), in post-classical Latin also head of a college (frequently from 1282 in British sources; 15th or 16th cent. in continental sources), also principāle (neuter noun) chief or most important part, in post-classical Latin also original document (a1210, 1549 in British sources), (in philosophy) essence (c1270 in a British source), original sum lent (from 13th cent. in British sources), main point in an argument (mid 14th cent. in British sources) < princip- , princeps (see princeps n. and adj.) + -ālis -al suffix¹.Compare Old Occitan, Occitan principal (early 13th cent. or earlier as adjective, c1300 as noun in sense ‘capital’), Catalan principal (late 13th cent. or earlier as adjective and noun, the latter in sense ‘legal representative’), Spanish principal (early 13th cent. or earlier as adjective, mid 13th cent. or earlier as noun), Portuguese principal (13th cent. as adjective, 15th cent. as noun in sense ‘head of a religious community, e.g. monastery’), Italian principale (a1292 as adjective, a1446 as noun in sense ‘employer’), and also Middle Dutch principael (Dutch principaal ), adjective and noun. In sense A. 7a after post-classical Latin verbum principale (14th cent. in British and continental sources; already in classical Latin denoting a base verb from which e.g. frequentative verbs are derived (2nd cent. a.d.)); this sense is apparently not paralleled in French until considerably later (1765). In sense A. 7b after German Haupttempora, plural (1774 or earlier); compare post-classical Latin tempora principalia , plural (1735 or earlier). With sense B. 11b compare Dutch principaal (apparently early 16th cent., although dictionaries of Dutch do not give examples earlier than the 19th cent.), German Prinzipal (late 16th cent. or earlier as †principal ), Old Occitan principal (1469), all in sense ‘main organ stop’, and probably also post-classical Latin organum principale (1573 or earlier, apparently in same sense). In German, Prinzipal is applied to the open diapason, and (with qualifications, e.g. Halbprinzipal ) to all stops of the same quality, of any pitch higher or lower. In sense B. 11c after German †Principal (apparently 17th cent., though not dated in dictionaries of German; now (hist.) Prinzipal ), †Principale (a1731 or earlier), both denoting a bass trumpet and its part in a musical work. Especially from the 20th cent. onwards, misspellings of both the adjective and the noun as principle are common, especially in senses A. 1, A. 2. Such misspellings are no doubt chiefly due to the homophony of principal and principle , but were probably reinforced by the semantic similarity of both words. Senses B. 4c and B. 7b likewise appear to be due to confusion of the homophones (and could alternatively be interpreted as showing later examples of the β forms of principle n.: compare discussion at that entry). In early use, especially postpositively, the adjective frequently occurs in plural forms principals , principales ; this usage is after French. With the use as adverb compare Middle Dutch principael (adverb), and earlier principally adv. A. adj. I. General senses. 1. Of a number of things or persons, or one of their number: belonging to the first rank; among the most important; prominent, leading, main; = chief adj. 4.Formerly frequently with superlative principallest (or most principal), or (occasionally) with comparative principaller (or more principal). a. Applied to things. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > most important > of things principalc1300 principal1417 supremec1550 capital1597 hegemonic1656 vital1810 big time1914 high-level1947 c1300 St. Kenelm (Laud) 15 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 345 (MED) Þare-inne beoth..bote þreo wateres principales..Þat on is homber, þat oþur seuerne, and temes þe þridde is. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 692 (MED) Planetes sefne principal Ther ben. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 7299 (MED) Now have I schewed yhow..Þe fourtene generalle payns in helle, Bot yhit es over þase a payne generalle, Þat of alle other es mast principalle. 1483 W. Caxton tr. Caton B j b The scoler which wyl lerne ought to haue thre pryncipalle condycions. 1533 in J. W. Clay Testamenta Eboracensia (1902) VI. 36 The fyve pryncypall woundes of our Lord. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 10 Water is one of the principalest things to be cared for. 1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. v. i. sig. Ii7 A further and more principal Consideration. 1690 in Locke Govt. i. vi. §62 He..has the Sovereignty over the Woman, as being the nobler and principaller Agent in Generation. 1723 tr. F. C. Weber Present State Russia I. 305 Among the Drugs which Russia produces, Rhubarb is one of the most principal. 1787 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Norfolk I. 131 An East-Norfolk farmer divides his farm into what he calls ‘six shifts’, to receive his principal crops in rotation. 1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xix. 178 He lived in solitary grandeur; eating and sleeping alone, (and these were his principal occupations). 1874 J. Sully Sensation & Intuition xi. 298 Character is but one, though a principal, source of interest among several that are employed by the drama. 1924 London Guide No. 3 152 At all the principal traffic centres and at the route terminals are uniformed ‘General’ Inspectors [of buses]. 1973 A. C. Boult My Own Trumpet ix. 97 For the principal posts the finest possible players were invited. 2003 J. Haldane Intelligent Person's Guide to Relig. iv. 102 One of the principal targets of Arab critics of the United States..is what is seen as America's cultural and economic imperium. b. Applied to persons, animals, etc. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > most important > of people mosta1300 principala1382 principal?a1425 capitalc1475 supreme1496 chief1535 leading1631 staple1642 big league1917 high-level1947 ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 160 (MED) This contree..hath xij princypall kynges in xij prouynces. c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 510 (MED) A mannys fadir and modir..ben to him summe of hise principalist neiȝboris. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. clxi. 196 The frenche kynge wolde nat agree without he myght haue foure of the princypallest of the englysshmen at his pleasure. 1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales i. vii. 11 Certaine of the principallest Gentlemen of the citie. 1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 133 A principall family of Indians, who are said to descend from the ancient Kings. 1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 349 He was..a principal maintainer of Protestancy. 1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 322 The [Dutch] Government of the Cape is administer'd by eight Courts or Councils. 1. The Grand-Council, or College of Policy, which consists of the Governor, and eight of the Company's principal Officers. a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) i. 57 I made an Acquaintance with many principal People of the Province. 1808 E. Sleath Bristol Heiress III. 263 Attended by some of the principal of the nobility. a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1658/2 The Florida cedar is used by all of the principal pencil-makers in the world. 1940 M. McCarthy in Partisan Rev. Mar. 136 There are three principal characters, a poet and his son, and a fugitive from the Old People's Home. 1982 M. Campbell-Kelly in M. V. Wilkes et al. Preparation of Programs for Electronic Digital Computer (new ed.) Introd. p. xiii The ingenious debugging subroutines he devised would alone have justified his ranking as a principal author [of a programming system]. 2002 D. Verton Hacker Diaries viii. 174 H.D. became one of the principal arms dealers, supplying the so-called packet warriors of the Internet with DOS-based scripts. 2. Of a particular thing or person: first or highest in rank or importance; that is at the head of all the rest; of the greatest account or value. a. Of a thing: first, chief, most important.Formerly also used postpositively. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adjective] firsteOE headOE highOE greatc1350 upperestc1374 chief1377 singular1377 principala1382 royalc1425 cardinal1440 pre-eminenta1460 praisea1475 main1480 maina1525 primary1565 captain1566 arch1574 mistressa1586 capital1597 topless1609 primea1616 metropolitan1635 transeminent1660 whole1675 uppermost1680 primus inter pares1688 topping1694 Sudder1787 par excellence1839 banner1840 primatial1892 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > most important > of people mosta1300 principala1382 principal?a1425 capitalc1475 supreme1496 chief1535 leading1631 staple1642 big league1917 high-level1947 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) Judith Prol. 23 To hir citeseynis she broȝte aȝeen þe principal victorie. c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 515 Now wol I speken of the remedye agayns this foule synne of Enuye; First is the loue of god principal and louynge of his neighebore as hym self. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 43 (MED) Ebron was wont to ben the princypall cytee of the Philistyenes. ?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. lxxxiv. f. 58 (MED) Pride is þe firste and principal synne. 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) 71 This hows is chyef and pryncipalle of alle other howses. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Ai The principall purpose of our entent. 1611 Bible (King James) Prov. iv. 7 Wisedome is the principall thing, therefore get wisedome. View more context for this quotation 1683 J. Bramston Autobiogr. 2 The first and principale rule giuen is to liue well. 1733 tr. Ceremonies & Relig. Customs Var. Nations I. i. ii. iii. 46 A Man who hath made the oral Law his principal Study. 1738 G. Smith tr. Laboratory ii. 43 Your first or principal Matter for Enamel-Colours. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xv. 100 The glacier which had filled the principal valley. 1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 23 Their principal food is flour and meal. 1922 S. Lewis Babbitt xxx. 357 Her principal gesture was a pontifical but thoroughly ladylike blessing with two stubby fingers. 1976 A. Eden Another World i. 18 The library was his principal achievement. 2004 Holiday Which? Winter 19/2 The principal street has an old apothecary's shop—still as it was in 1863. b. Of a person: having the highest rank or most important position; chief.Formerly also used postpositively, esp. in titles. Cf. sheriff-principal at sheriff n. 2b, Official Principal at official n.¹ 1. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adjective] higheOE drightlikeOE highlyOE drightfula1225 prouda1275 principalc1385 solemna1387 gentlec1390 high and mighty1400 imperial?c1400 royalc1405 kinglyc1425 sublimatec1425 lordfulc1429 lordlyc1440 assumpt1447 raiseda1450 haught1470 kinglikec1485 lordlike1488 triumphant1494 greatlya1500 princely?a1510 supereminent1531 princelike1532 lofta1547 lofty1548 regal1561 supernal1562 haughty1563 excelse1569 queen-like?1571 majestical1578 erecteda1586 augustious1591 ennobled1592 imperious1592 enthronized1593 august1594 high-born1598 sublimed1602 jovial1604 majestic1606 enthroned1609 starred1615 exalted1623 majestuous1633 reared1638 sublimary1655 majestative1656 kingrik1663 superb1663 grand1673 celse1708 stilted1744 canonized1790 queenly1791 apotheosized1794 princified1857 the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adjective] > specifically of people chief138. principalc1385 capitalc1475 grand1539 c1385 G. Chaucer Knight's Tale 1498 Arcita..With Theseus his squyer principal Is risen. c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 32 (MED) For that j [sc. Penitence] kan so wel washe, so wel lathere, and so wel bowke, hath god maad me his chambrere and his principal [Fr. principal] lauendere. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Rest of Esther xvi. B He was..had in hye honoure of euery man, as the next and pryncipall vnto the kynge. 1578 in I. H. Jeayes Catal. Charters Berkeley Castle (1892) 324 Robert Commendatar of Dunfermelenge owre principall Secretar and Ambassador. 1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 3 The principal Minister, who among the Lutherans is look'd upon as a Bishop. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 169 He would first acquaint that Gentleman who was their principal Benefactor, with the Distress they were in. 1795 Gentleman's Mag. July 544/2 He was the principal projector of the fund for decayed musicians. 1843 E. Dieffenbach Trav. N.Z. II. i. vii. 114 The fat of the native rats (Kiore) killed on such lands should be given to the principal proprietor. 1897 H. G. Wells Invisible Man vi. 44 She was the expert and principal operator in this affair. 1935 W. S. Churchill Let. 10 Mar. in W. S. Churchill & C. S. Churchill Speaking for Themselves (1999) xvi. 393 We have a big meeting at the Albert Hall on Thursday next at which I am the principal speaker. 1997 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 May 10/1 The real turning point was the great pogrom of November 1938 (Reichskristallnacht ) of which Hitler himself was the principal mover. 2005 Delicious Nov. (Flavours of India Suppl.) 4/3 It is believed that the principal Hindu god, Vishnu, experienced many different incarnations. †3. Of, belonging to, or befitting a prince; princely, royal. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > [adjective] reala1325 rialc1330 principala1382 royalc1405 princely?a1510 monarchical?1573 monarchal?1585 monarchic1604 monarchial1788 majestarian1847 sovereignly1884 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Esther ii. 18 He ȝaf reste to alle prouyncis & grauntide large ȝiftis aftir principal gret doyng [a1425 L.V. aftir the worschipful doyng of a prynce; L. iuxta magnificentiam principalem]. ?1435 ( J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 632 (MED) The moste princypall [were] Afforn in reede with theire Meire rydyng. a1450 Lessons of Dirige (Digby) 373 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 119 (MED) Wiþ þy blod principal, Wonderly þou haste vs boȝt. 1578 Bk. Christian Prayers in Private Prayers (1851) 499 Give me the comfort of thy saving help again, and strengthen me with a principal Spirit. 1582 T. Bentley et al. Monument of Matrones Ep. Ded. Hauing the principal and heroicall spirit of your holie father good King Dauid. 1591 E. Spenser Muiopotmos in Complaints sig. X But walkt at will, and wandred too and fro, In the pride of his freedome principall. 1614 T. Lodge tr. Seneca De Beneficiis 22 This is..a principall tribute. 4. Of special quality; excellent, choice; first-class, first-rate. Now rare (Scottish in later use). Sc. National Dict.(1968) records this sense as still in use in Shetland and Kirkcudbrightshire in 1966. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [adjective] faireOE bremea1000 goodlyOE goodfulc1275 noblec1300 pricec1300 specialc1325 gentlec1330 fine?c1335 singulara1340 thrivena1350 thriven and throa1350 gaya1375 properc1380 before-passinga1382 daintiful1393 principala1398 gradelya1400 burlyc1400 daintyc1400 thrivingc1400 voundec1400 virtuousc1425 hathelc1440 curiousc1475 singlerc1500 beautiful1502 rare?a1534 gallant1539 eximious1547 jolly1548 egregious?c1550 jellyc1560 goodlike1562 brawc1565 of worth1576 brave?1577 surprising1580 finger-licking1584 admirablea1586 excellinga1586 ambrosial1598 sublimated1603 excellent1604 valiant1604 fabulous1609 pure1609 starryc1610 topgallant1613 lovely1614 soaringa1616 twanging1616 preclarent1623 primea1637 prestantious1638 splendid1644 sterling1647 licking1648 spankinga1666 rattling1690 tearing1693 famous1695 capital1713 yrare1737 pure and —1742 daisy1757 immense1762 elegant1764 super-extra1774 trimming1778 grand1781 gallows1789 budgeree1793 crack1793 dandy1794 first rate1799 smick-smack1802 severe1805 neat1806 swell1810 stamming1814 divine1818 great1818 slap-up1823 slapping1825 high-grade1826 supernacular1828 heavenly1831 jam-up1832 slick1833 rip-roaring1834 boss1836 lummy1838 flash1840 slap1840 tall1840 high-graded1841 awful1843 way up1843 exalting1844 hot1845 ripsnorting1846 clipping1848 stupendous1848 stunning1849 raving1850 shrewd1851 jammy1853 slashing1854 rip-staving1856 ripping1858 screaming1859 up to dick1863 nifty1865 premier cru1866 slap-bang1866 clinking1868 marvellous1868 rorty1868 terrific1871 spiffing1872 all wool and a yard wide1882 gorgeous1883 nailing1883 stellar1883 gaudy1884 fizzing1885 réussi1885 ding-dong1887 jim-dandy1888 extra-special1889 yum-yum1890 out of sight1891 outasight1893 smooth1893 corking1895 large1895 super1895 hot dog1896 to die for1898 yummy1899 deevy1900 peachy1900 hi1901 v.g.1901 v.h.c.1901 divvy1903 doozy1903 game ball1905 goodo1905 bosker1906 crackerjack1910 smashinga1911 jake1914 keen1914 posh1914 bobby-dazzling1915 juicy1916 pie on1916 jakeloo1919 snodger1919 whizz-bang1920 wicked1920 four-star1921 wow1921 Rolls-Royce1922 whizz-bang1922 wizard1922 barry1923 nummy1923 ripe1923 shrieking1926 crazy1927 righteous1930 marvy1932 cool1933 plenty1933 brahmaa1935 smoking1934 solid1935 mellow1936 groovy1937 tough1937 bottler1938 fantastic1938 readyc1938 ridge1938 super-duper1938 extraordinaire1940 rumpty1940 sharp1940 dodger1941 grouse1941 perfecto1941 pipperoo1945 real gone1946 bosting1947 supersonic1947 whizzo1948 neato1951 peachy-keen1951 ridgey-dite1953 ridgy-didge1953 top1953 whizzing1953 badass1955 wild1955 belting1956 magic1956 bitching1957 swinging1958 ridiculous1959 a treat1959 fab1961 bad-assed1962 uptight1962 diggish1963 cracker1964 marv1964 radical1964 bakgat1965 unreal1965 pearly1966 together1968 safe1970 bad1971 brilliant1971 fabby1971 schmick1972 butt-kicking1973 ripper1973 Tiffany1973 bodacious1976 rad1976 kif1978 awesome1979 death1979 killer1979 fly1980 shiok1980 stonking1980 brill1981 dope1981 to die1982 mint1982 epic1983 kicking1983 fabbo1984 mega1985 ill1986 posho1989 pukka1991 lovely jubbly1992 awesomesauce2001 nang2002 bess2006 amazeballs2009 boasty2009 daebak2009 beaut2013 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 178^v þey vsen principal lokyng and siȝt of arwes. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 4166 At every corner of this wall Was set a tour full pryncipall. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 405 (MED) Thei accompte that wyne most principalle whiche is most redde [a1387 J. Trevisa tr. Euere þe redder is þe wyn, Þey holdeþ it þe more fyn]. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Song of Sol. v. 13 His lippes droppe as the floures of the most principall Myrre. a1552 J. Leland Itinerary (1711) IV. 29 From Kiddey Mouth..to the Mouthe of Thawän a 3. Miles by very principal good Corn Ground. 1589 ‘Pasquill of England’ Returne of Pasquill sig. Biij^v A great Nosegay in his hande, of the principalest flowers I could gather. 1610 Bible (Douay) II. Ezek. xxvii. 17 Iuda and the land of Israel they were thy merchants in the principal corne [L. in frumento primo]. 1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. x. 40 And Tupitil and Teutecatl, very principall gentlemen, had the Vant-gard with ten thousand men. 1835 J. Hogg Tales Wars Montrose (1874) 681 He was a principal man at weapon-shaws, excelling every competitor. 1898 J. J. H. Burgess Tang 51 Prinncipal, boy, prinncipal; he's raelly been prinncipal wadder for da herrin. †5. Specially great (in comparison with things of the kind generally); of high degree or importance; special, eminent. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [adjective] speciala1387 especialc1400 principal1417 peculiarc1449 extraordinaryc1460 enspeciala1533 individual1646 different1856 speciality1879 speshul1900 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > most important > of things principalc1300 principal1417 supremec1550 capital1597 hegemonic1656 vital1810 big time1914 high-level1947 1417 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. I. 55 (MED) The gracious prosperitie..of your renowned person..[is] soe gracious and joyous newes..to the principall comforte and especiall consolation of us and all your faythfull subjectes. 1429 Norwich Constit. in Patent Roll, 8 Henry VI 15 Nov. (P.R.O.: C 66/426) m. 12 The xxiiij aldermen..xal..supporten the Mair..walkyng with hym on principal dayes and in procession. a1500 Life St. Anne (Tanner) (1928) 99 (MED) Joachym went to cherche to make his offeryng on a pryncipall day. 1576 A. Fleming tr. Erasmus in Panoplie Epist. 353 Some beastes..as they are vnto man principall benefites, so to themselues and to their kind, they are most louing and tender. 1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 3 The Pen-men [of the Scripture being such as were] endewed with a principall portion of Gods spirit. 1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man ii. iii. 213 That which is prior in the Order of Nature is always less perfect and principal, than that which is posterior. 1868 H. Bushnell Serm. Living Subj. 252 Which is understood to be the manner to a principal degree of a certain immense trading house. II. Special and technical senses. 6. Of money: constituting the primary or original sum; that is the main or capital sum invested or lent, and yielding interest or income; capital. Cf. sense B. 3. †principal cost: original or prime cost. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > financial dealings > types of money-dealing > [adjective] > capital or principal principal1340 capital1569 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 35 (MED) Hi..makeþ ofte of þe gauel principale dette. 1455 in W. Fraser Lennox (1874) II. 71 As of principale dete to the said Patrik. a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxxvii^v It was ordeyned y^t the say persones beyng dettours to the sayd vsurers shuld paye the pryncipall dette vnto the kynge at theyr dayes of payment. 1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance xxxii. f. 73 He desyred them..to take for that tyme theyr pryncipal som that was borowed, and clerely to remytte all the resydue. c1677 in A. Marvell Acct. Growth Popery 62 The parties..swore the Principal Costs of their Goods was to the Value of 3902l. a1687 W. Petty Polit. Arithm. (1690) Pref. sig. a iij Actions [shares] in the East-India Company are near double the principal Money. 1731 J. Gay Let. to Swift 20 Mar. At the same time tell me what I shall do with the principal sum. 1793 tr. A. R. J. Turgot Refl. Formation & Distrib. Wealth §79. 95 The use of those twenty thousand ounces of silver for a year is not worth less..than the twentieth part of the principal sum. 1852 J. Bright Let. 25 Oct. in Speeches Public Policy (1868) II. 534 500,000l. per annum..or a principal sum, at twenty years' purchase, of 10,000,000l. 1965 F. E. Perry & F. R. Ryder Thomson's Dict. Banking (ed. 11) 317/1 Irredeemable debenture, a debenture which does not contain any provision for repayment of the principal money. 2002 South China (Hong Kong) Morning Post (Nexis) 15 Sept. (Sunday Money) 3 Guaranteed funds..promise investors a return at least equalling the principal outlay. 7. Grammar. a. Of a sentence or clause, or of a word (esp. a verb): superordinate to another which is auxiliary to or dependent upon it; that is the main clause, verb, etc. Opposed to subordinate or dependent. Cf. main clause n., main verb n. at main adj.² Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic relations > [adjective] > superordinate principalc1414 superordinate1858 c1414 in D. Thompson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 105 (MED) Qwat shal þu do, if þu haue mone verbes in a reson, to knowe þi principal verbe? 1554 Bp. T. Watson Twoo Notable Serm. sig. Y.iiii^v Leauyng oute the principall verbe (est) in the wordes of Christ, as it was in y^e last boke in the firste pryntyng. 1590 J. Stockwood Eng. Accidence 2 After the nominatiue case commeth the principall verbe... First of all, the principall verbe must be sought out. 1612 J. Brinsley Ludus Lit. viii. 95 To seeke out carefully the principall Verbe, by the rule in the Grammar of finding out the principal Verb. 1726 J. T. Philipps Ess. towards Rational Gram. 85 Thence also qui, quis, quantus, qualis, and the like, coming in a Sentence after the principal Verb, govern the Verb following in a Subjunctive. 1770 A. Fisher New Eng. Exercise Bk. 18 When an Auxiliary is not expressed, we always express the Time in the principal Verb. 1777 J. Priestley Course Lect. on Oratory iii. xxxii. 281 A sentence must be ambiguous when it is impossible to determine, from the structure of it, to which antecedent a relative refers, or to what principal clause of a sentence a circumstance introduced into it belongs. 1871 H. J. Roby Gram. Lat. Lang. iv. iii. §1024 A compound sentence contains two or more single sentences... If they are not independent of each other, one will be principal and the others subordinate. 1876 C. P. Mason Eng. Gram. (ed. 21) §400 A Complex Sentence is one which, besides a principal subject and predicate, contains one or more subordinate clauses, which have subjects and predicates of their own. 1957 R. W. Zandvoort Handbk. Eng. Gram. (new ed.) i. v. 64 The opposite of ‘auxiliary’ is ‘notional verb’, ‘principal verb’, or ‘verb full of meaning’. 1992 Forum Mod. Lang. Stud. 28 39/1 The sense of incompleteness is emphasised by the fact that the opening adverbial clause..is never followed up by a principal clause with a finite verb. b. Of a tense: = primary adj. 12. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > tense > [adjective] > other specific tenses primary1813 principal1818 prospective1893 past future1904 expanded1931 1818 E. V. Blomfield tr. A. Matthiæ Copious Greek Gram. I. 244 The class of the Principal tenses [Ger. die Classe der Haupttemporum],..the other the class of the Historical tenses. 1842 W. E. Jelf Gram. Greek Lang. II. i. 70 These words are divided, as to their relations of time, into the Subjunctive of the principal tenses,..and the Subjunctive of the historic tenses. 1892 L. Kellner Hist. Outl. Eng. Syntax §371 Principal tenses depend on principal tenses; historical on historical. 1909 Mod. Lang Notes 24 99/1 Modern usage is..discarding the old sequence of tenses and using in the subordinate clause the principal tenses (present, perfect, future) of the subjunctive to indicate indirectness of statement. 2010 G. V. M. Haverling in P. Baldi & P. Cuzzolin New Perspectives on Hist. Lat. Syntax 363 The present tense, being a ‘principal tense’ together with the simple future, is usually followed by principal tenses. 8. Law. Designating the chief person concerned in some action or proceeding; esp. that is the actual perpetrator of, or directly responsible for, a crime. Cf. sense B. 2. ΘΚΠ society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [adjective] > chief perpetrator of crime principal1428 society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > [adjective] > that is chief person in proceeding principal1428 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > party in litigation > [adjective] > that is chief person concerned principal1428 1428 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 80 (MED) I bequethe to my wyfe alle þe goodis þat be meuablis, and sche to be my prinsepall seccutur. 1486 Act 3 Hen. VII c. 2 Such Mis-doers, Takers,..and Receitors..[shall] be..judged as principal Felons. 1511 in Bk. Old Edinb. Club XI. 107 Quhen ony parteis enteris to pley, that the principale party and thar advocat sale entir with thaim without ony ma personis. 1553 J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus Hist. vi. f. 112^v The residue of the counsail were of opinion that Philotas woulde neuer haue conseiled this conspiracie, excepte he had bene either principall or priuye therunto. c1600 in J. Balfour Practicks (1754) 549 That the receiptar, or the complices, sall not be compellit to answer untill the assise proceid and deliver tuiching the principal partie. a1699 J. Kirkton Secret & True Hist. Church Scotl. (1817) 363 It makes every man who shall either harbour, entertain, or converse with the persone intercommuned, equally guilty with the principal criminal. 1766 E. Griffith Double Mistake iii. iv. 43 In the aforesaid case, is not the young lady to be considered as the principal party? 1820 Ohio Repository (Canton, Ohio) 14 Dec. He could not..be tried without his consent, before the conviction of the principal felon. 1855 ‘I. Marvel’ Fudge Doings II. xxxvii. 219 The rumor..that the..principal instigator of the suit was a wooer of Miss Kitty, did not at all contribute to the success of the cause. 1959 F. Sondern Brotherhood of Evil xii. 226 When the fangs of the new law snapped shut on the next big national-international narcotics case in September 1957, the principal defendant was racketeer Harry Stromberg. 1996 Jerusalem Post (Nexis) 26 Feb. 7 She added that the plea bargain in this case would have enabled the conviction of the principal felon had he not pleaded guilty. 9. Building. Of a beam, post, etc.: forming part of the main framework of a roof or building; spec. (of a rafter) forming an inclined part of the roof truss, being attached to a tie beam and supporting the horizontal purlins. Cf. sense B. 6. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [adjective] > principal member principal1452 1452 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 282 Nicholas shamake newe a roofe to the cherche of seynt Bennettys..First, iiij principal Bemys with braces and pendaunttes... Item, atte euery end of the pendaunt shalbe a angell. 1477–9 in H. Littlehales Medieval Rec. London City Church (1905) 85 To a Carpynter, for his labour, a principall post & a watir borde, xx d. 1594 H. Plat Diuerse Sorts of Soyle 10 in Jewell House The principall postes, the Rafters, and the beames of any house. 1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 45 Beams of the Roof for the principal Rafters to stand on. 1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. viii. 145 The Quarters and Braces between the principal Posts and Posts are fitted in. 1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 122 Crown-post, is that Post, which (in some Buildings) stands upright in the middle, between 2 principal Rafters. ?1785 Langley's Builder's Compl. Assist. (ed. 4) I. 152 If..there be discharging Struts framed into the Beams and Prick Posts..they will discharge the principal Rafters from the greatest Part of the whole Weight. 1860 R. Brandon & J. A. Brandon Open Timber Roofs 26 The wall-piece is tenoned into the underside of the principal rafter. 1970 N. Pevsner Cambridgeshire (Buildings of Eng.) (ed. 2) 508/1 Diaphragm [Arch], a transverse arch with solid spandrels carrying not a vault but a principal beam of a timber roof. 2002 Build It Nov. 56/2 This highly skilled undertaking would have to include replacing or re-enforcing the original butt purlins, post beams and principal rafters. 10. Scottish. Of a document: original; that is not a copy. Cf. sense B. 7a. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > originality or non-imitation > [adjective] > of a document, etc. principal1469 original1597 1469 Acts Parl. Scotl. II. 95/1 The quhilk register sall haue the samyn force as the principale reuersione wer schawing for the tyme. 1496 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. 19 This sade copy to be of als gret strenth..as the sade principale charter. 1567 in 6th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1877) 642/1 This is the autentik and iust copy of the principall lettir aboue mentionat... And the same originall and principall extant to schaw will testifie. 1589 in D. Masson Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1881) 1st Ser. IV. 442 Thay wer nocht contenit in the body of the said principall letter..bot interlynnit on the mairgeane thairof. 1685 G. MacKenzie Acct. Discov. Conspiracies 26 All the principal Letters and Cyphers, with the Keys of Words, and a great many Depositions taken both here and in England, are lying in the Records of His Majesties Privy Council in Scotland. 1754 J. Erskine Princ. Law Scotl. II. iv. i. §7 No extract from an inferior court is a bar to certification; the principal writing must be laid before the Court of Session on a proper warrant. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 368 It is ultimately incumbent on either the defender or the pursuer to obtain a warrant for the production of the principal deed from the record. 1964 A. Walker & N. Walker Law of Evidence 240 It is competent in civil litigation, where the principal document is not material, for the parties to agree to accept a copy. 1994 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 11 Nov. 44 She [sc. a lawyer] said: ‘Oh dear, the council haven't given me the principal copy of the summons.’ 11. Surveying. Designating the triangles measured in the first triangulation of a region, each extending over a large area, from which smaller secondary triangles are derived. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > surveying > [adjective] > specific orders of triangulation principal1790 secondary1790 tertiary1851 first-order1863 primary1920 1790 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 80 248 The first set [of secondary triangles] consists of thirty-five, whereby the relative distances of so many points have been determined from certain stations of the principal series. 1795 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 85 490 (heading) Of the selection of the angles constituting the principal triangles, and the manner of reducing them for computation. 1883 Athenæum 14 July 52/3 The principal triangulation of India..has occupied the geodesists continuously since the beginning of the century. 1978 Imago Mundi 30 36 There were interesting incidental items such as a manuscript diagram of the principal triangles for England and Wales. 12. Seismology. Designating the most intense shock or earthquake in a sequence. Cf. mainshock n. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > convulsion > [adjective] > earthquake terremotive1837 seismic1858 seismical1869 earthquaking1881 seismotic1889 principal1899 macroseismic1903 primary wave1919 seismal1977 1899 C. Davison Hereford Earthquake Dec. 17, 1896 iv. 199 The principal shock was also registered by magnetographs at Kew. 1938 L. D. Leet Pract. Seismol. ix. 295 Davison has cited several well-studied cases..where the range of audibility of after-shocks increased progressively and systematically, giving evidence of decreasing depth of foci following the principal shock. 1965 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. (rev. ed.) xxv. 893 The principal shock, which generally lasts only a few seconds, or at most, and rarely, a few minutes, may be preceded by fore-shocks and is invariably followed by a series of after-shocks. 2002 Physics of Earth & Planetary Interiors 129 14/1 The present-day seismicity is mainly characterized by seismic series unassociated with a principal earthquake. B. n. I. Denoting persons occupying a principal position or rank. 1. a. A person having the highest authority in an organization, institution, or group; a chief, head, ruler, governor, master; †the master or mistress of a household (obsolete). Now rare except in specific senses (see B. 1c, B. 1d, B. 1e). ΘΚΠ society > authority > [noun] > those in authority > person in authority > head or chief headeOE headmanOE headsmanOE masterlinga1200 dukec1275 chevetaine1297 chief1297 headlingc1300 principalc1325 captainc1380 primatec1384 chieftainc1400 master-man1424 principate1483 grand captain1531 headmaster?1545 knap of the casec1555 capitano1594 muqaddam1598 mudaliyar1662 reis1677 sachem1684 doge1705 prytanis1790 gam1827 main guy1882 oga1917 ras1935 c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 9154 (MED) Þe bissop roger of salesbury..þo was þe principal þe sacringe vor to do. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 487 As a king in his Empire Above alle othre is lord and Sire, So is the herte principal. a1450 Rule St. Benet (Vesp.) (1902) 2441 (MED) Þe Priores os [= as] prencipall Sal be honord ouer þam all. c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 219 (MED) When þer principall was dead, sho was made principall. 1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes iii. ii. 170 The Emperoure of Rome..is the pryncypall of the worlde. a1525 G. Myll Spectakle of Luf in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1923) I. 282 The king Nysus that was principall and had the gouernance within this tovne. 1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xix. 85 Why, hath your principall made knowne vnto you who I am? View more context for this quotation 1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler Aggawam 66 In Breaches integrant, 'tween Principalls of States, Due Justice may suppresse, but Love redintegrates. 1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison III. vii. 46 The servants, throughout the house, adore you: And I am sure their principals do. 1795 M. P. Andrews & F. Reynolds Mysteries of Castle i. ii. 18 Please to dismiss the Lady of the Bed Chamber—I only speak to principals in office—always mute before underlings. 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 382/2 The principal of the firm was what is termed ‘gay’. He was particularly fond of attending public entertainments. 1879 ‘Australian’ Adventures Queensland 105 Two bark huts were built... The upper hut was for the two principals, the lower one for the men. †b. In plural. Leading or prominent people in a community; nobles, notables. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > one who has leading position or is most important firstc1275 coba1420 principalsa1425 cock1542 chief1569 colossus1605 primore1625 cape1650 sachem1684 leading light1707 high priest1737 king bee1792 gentleman, man of lead1793 queen bee1823 primo basso1826 spokesman1828 protagonist1837 kingpin1861 key man1895 headliner1896 big boy1921 numero uno1944 godfather1963 the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > fame or renown > famous or eminent person > [noun] > (group of) eminent people greata1325 principalsa1425 the great and the good1624 constellationa1631 grand1667 Pleiad1856 prominenti1927 tycoonery1956 a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Jer. xxv. 34 Ȝelle, ȝe scheepherdis, and crye, and, ȝe princypals of the floc [L. optimates gregis]. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 147 He commanded to the princypales [?a1425 Egerton þe grettest and þe ricchest] of the vij lynages, þat þei scholde leuen & forsaken all þat þei hadden in godes & heritage. a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 124 Ther þe kyng tok þe principalis of London and sette hem in prison at Wyndesore. 1576 A. Fleming Panoplie Epist. Epitome sig. Aij The principalls of ech Prouince, stayed themselues vpon his determination. 1588 R. Parke tr. J. G. de Mendoza Hist. Kingdome of China 20 The garments which the nobles and principals do vse, bee of silke. 1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 11 To attaint by Parliament the Heads and Principals of his Enemies. 1631 in W. Stevenson Presbyterie Bk. Kirkcaldie (1900) 34 Whilks penalties shalbe taken up be the masters and principals of the ground in landward. c. Chiefly in the United Kingdom: the head of a college, university, or other institute of higher learning. Cf. president n. 2c.In Oxford and Cambridge the title is confined to the heads of certain colleges and private halls (the others being variously designated president, master, provost, warden, rector, and dean). ΘΚΠ society > education > educational administration > university administration > [noun] > principal principal1438 rector1523 pro-rector1886 1438 Early Chancery Proc. (Publ. Rec. Office) 75/11 One Roger Grey, Clerk, principalle of Brasenoce in Oxynforde. 1535–6 Act 27 Hen. VIII xlii, in Statutes of Realm (1817) III. 599 The Deanes Wardeynes Provostes Maisters Presidentes Rectours Principalles,..Scolers and Studentes..within the said Universities. 1569 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 675 Maister Alexander Andirsoun principall, Maister Andro Galloway sub-principall,..of the College of Auld Abirdene. 1600 in P. J. Anderson Fasti Acad. Mariscallanae Aberdonensis (1889) I. 79 As to be Principall of the Colledge of Fraserbrughe. 1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 148 In 1546 he was made Principal of St. Maries Hall. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) The chief person in some of the Inns of Chancery is also called Principal of the House. 1768 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1968) VII. (at cited word) The university of Glasgow is at present composed of a chancellor, rector, dean of faculty, principal, and thirteen professors. 1821 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 8 Dec. 3/3 Dr. Mason, who has been appointed principal of Dickenson College, Carlisle, preached his farewell sermon. 1883 Times 27 Oct. 7/2 The Principal of the University College of South Wales..last evening delivered an inaugural address to students. 1900 Kelly's Oxford Directory 106/1 Lady Margaret Hall..founded in 1879 for the higher education of women... Lady Principal, Miss Elizabeth Wordsworth. 1966 Cal. King's Coll. London 1966–7 23 The vigorous and statesmanlike A. C. Headlam (later bishop of Gloucester) became principal of King's College in 1903. 1990 Times Educ. Suppl. 28 Dec. 1/2 The principal of a big Midlands college said..that he had five instructors doing the same job as lecturers. d. A fully-qualified practitioner in a professional business, esp. a legal or medical partnership; one of the senior partners in a company, organization, or firm. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > non-manual worker > businessman > [noun] > partner > types of partner sleeping partner1785 latent partner1791 principal1806 special partner1811 silent partner1818 limited partner1824 sleeper1901 limited1953 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in London I. ii. 43 [He] attended the banking-house in the capacity of a pupil, who was hereafter to become a principal in the concern. 1901 Dict. National Biogr. at Chapleau, Sir Joseph Adolphe He then entered into partnership with his former principals and began to practise at the Montreal bar. 1938 Times 31 Oct. 20 Mr G. F. Hallam, principal in the firm of Messrs. E. G. Clark and Hallam, solicitors, of Lancaster. 1975 Law (Employment Service Agency: Careers and Occupational Information Centre) 8 The principal with whom he has served his articles or apprenticeship may offer him an opening. 1996 Pulse 20 Apr. 3/5 Ageing principals, the growth in part-timers and a shortage of GP registrars meant there were twice as many vacancies in rural Scotland. 2006 Washington Post 22 Nov. A5 ‘The farmers are innocent victims,’ said..a principal at Gray, Ritter & Graham PC, the St. Louis law firm that filed the largest suit. e. The headmaster or headmistress of a school.rare in Britain, but common in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and other English-speaking regions (in U.S. use sometimes as a prefixed title). ΘΚΠ society > education > teaching > teacher > schoolteacher or schoolmaster > [noun] > head teacher rector1434 provost1442 headmaster1576 regent1583 gymnasiarch1682 headmistress1730 headteacher1758 principal1827 archididascalus1844 head1889 1827 S. Rodman in B. Swan New Bedford in 1827 (1935) 3/2 I visited the High School, Wm. Johnson, principal. 1833 Cent. Mag. 30 780/1 I am, sir..permitted to be the Principal of the Canterbury, (Conn.) Female Boarding School. 1848 W. M. Thackeray Bk. Snobs v. 21 The Reverend Otto Rose, D.D., Principal of the Preparatory Academy for young noblemen and gentlemen,..took this little Lord in hand. 1895 Chicago Tribune 17 Jan. 5/2 Dr. Pekoon, Professor of Biology in the Lake View High School, and Mr. Norton, Principal, met yesterday. 1949 Lubbock (Texas) Morning Avalanche 23 Feb. i. 10/6 Price was named to the position of principal of the new school. 1987 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 14 June 13/1 Brisbane State High School principal Mr Ray Fitzgerald admits to being a bit of a bower bird. 1997 M. Groening et al. Simpsons: Compl. Guide 109/1 Meanwhile, Bart pelts Principal Skinner with a tomato. 2005 National Rev. 12 Sept. 59 Reporters gleaned the information that Jonathan had had to repeat his junior year at high school, that he had quarreled with the school principal, [etc.]. f. (Sometimes with capital initial.) In Great Britain: a civil servant of the grade below Secretary.No longer a standard term in the civil service. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > civil service > [noun] > civil servant > specific grades of British permanent secretary1785 abstracter1857 abstractor1859 permanent under-secretary1859 principal1867 second division1897 abstractor clerk1901 permsec1908 secretary1932 Perm.S.1942 under-secretary1959 1867 Times 6 May 9/6 The Civil Service... Excise Branch... Mr. J. Bell..has been promoted to be deputy principal of the laboratory at the chief office. 1890 A. E. Housman Let. 9 Oct. (1971) 28 The position as Principal held by Mr Webb would give him a status not justified..by length of service. 1915 F. G. Heath Brit. Civil Service xxii. 230 The salaries are as under: Twelve Analysts (Second Class), £160 by £15 annually to £350;..one Deputy Principal, £700 by £25 to £800; and one Principal Chemist, £1200, and after five years.., £1500 per annum. 1951 T. A. Critchley Civil Service Today ii. 38 Under these high officials..are the assistant secretaries, in charge of divisions, and principals, in charge of sections. 1967 Times Rev. Industry Feb. 100/2 The full time staff is small... Of these five are ‘principals’—as the Civil Service calls executives. 2005 Gloucestershire Echo (Nexis) 22 Feb. 8 Having spent 35 years in the civil service, at every grade up to and including principal, I thought I had heard, seen or used all manner of jargon and waffle possible. 2. A chief actor or doer; a principal agent. a. The person chiefly responsible for some action, an initiator or leader; spec. (Law) a person directly responsible for a crime, either as actual perpetrator, or as present, aiding and abetting, at the commission of it (opposed to accessary). Cf. sense A. 8.principal in the first or second degree: see degree n. 6d. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > criminality > criminal person > [noun] > performer principalc1325 society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > one who presides > over an institution or society governora1325 principalc1325 master1389 warden1575 president1664 prime minister1694 premier1784 society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > a criminal or law-breaker > actual perpetrator of crime principalc1325 perp1968 c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10204 (MED) Þe bissop of londone..& þe bissop of hereuorde..Of þis mansinge were principals. 1414 Rolls of Parl. IV. 57/2 I was endited of trespace as an accessorie, and not endited as a principal. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) xix. 13 The lord the Soullis schyr Wilȝam Off that purches had mast defame, For principale [1487 St. John's Cambr. principall] thar-off was he Off assent of that cruelte. 1528 Acts Parl. Scotl. II. 323/1 And quhill the principale be convicte thare cann nane vthire be convicte of assistance. 1572 J. Leslie Copie Let. out of Scotl. f. 37^v Ihon Hepborne the Earle Bothwelles man (who with certaine others that had in deede bene presente at the murder, was executed, for a face of iustice, and to remoue suspicion from the principals). 1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. G2^v To prison was I sent as principall, and my master as accessarie. a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 18 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) By the common Law, the accessaries cannot be proceeded against, till the principall have received his tryall. 1612 W. Strachey Lawes in P. Force Tracts (1844) III. 21 No man shall dare to kill, or destroy any Bull..without leaue from the Generall, upon paine of death in the Principall, and in the accessary, burning in the Hand. a1634 E. Coke Institutes (1644) III. lxiv. 138 All agree, that procurors of such treason to be done before the fact done, if after the fact be done accordingly, in case of treason, are principals, for that they are participes criminis in the very act of counterfeiting. 1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 149 I then reproach'd my self with the Liberties I had taken, and how I had been a Snare to this Gentleman, and that indeed I was principal in the Crime. 1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. iii. 34 A man may be principal in an offence in two degrees. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1871) I. v. 312 In cases of felony, a distinction..is made between the principal and the accessory after the fact. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 114/1 The law of Scotland makes no distinction between the accessory to any crime and the principal. 1964 S. Bellow Herzog (1965) 235 The principals in an attempted robbery appeared at the bar. 1999 W. Soyinka Burden of Memory i. 87 So let this be a concerted preliminary step in Reparations—an act that acknowledges the guilt of accessories and makes restitution to the victims of the principals. b. A person for whom another is surety; a person who is primarily liable for a debt. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > financial dealings > borrowing money > [noun] > borrower > for whom another is surety principal1453 1453 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 403 The forsaid Andrew..and Richard..borowes..enterit the said David..and David..personali.., neuertheles the said principales, David..and David.., wald noght [etc.]. 1576 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 545 We Alexander Arbuthnot merchand, and Thomas Bassinden imprentair..bindis and oblissis us, conjunctlie and severalie as principallis; David Guthrie [etc.] as souirteis conjunctlie and severalie. 1607 Fayre Mayde of Exchange sig. D3 The debt was none of mine, I was a suretie, not the principall. 1652 Z. Boyd in Munimenta Alme Univ. Glasguensis (1854) I. 308 The foirsaids persones principallis and catiounaris. 1789 W. Brown Rep. Cases Chancery II. 581 The defendant..insisted upon the benefit of the said plaintiff's bond, and that he was to be deemed a principal and not a surety. 1802 Ld. Eldon in Vesey's Rep. VI. 734 But the surety is a guarantee; and it is his business to see, whether the principal pays, and not that of the creditor. 1891 Law Times Rep. 63 765/1 The defendants were liable as principals, as they had contracted in their own names. 1956 Times 12 June 16/3 The words ‘primarily responsible’, in his Lordship's view, meant liable in the same sense as it did between a principal and a surety, both of whom were equally liable to the creditor as between themselves. 1999 B. A. Garner Handbk. Business Law Terms 471 Principal... The person who has primary responsibility on an obligation, as opposed to the surety or indorser. c. Either of the main combatants in a duel or fight, esp. as distinguished from the seconds. Now archaic or historical. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > warrior > [noun] > champion or fighter in single combat campionc1320 defendantc1450 combatant1489 appellant1520 defender?c1525 principal1590 duellist1593 champion1597 combater1598 dueller1614 battailant1620 pistol man1784 monomachist1828 1590 W. Segar Bk. Honor & Armes v. 23 No reason bindeth that the Padrine should fight..sith the Iniuries..and Defiances are passed betweene the Principalls, and the Padrins ought doo none otherwise than as Aduocates. 1635 J. Reynolds Triumphs Gods Revenge (new ed.) iv. xix. 380 Their principals shall search the seconds, and the seconds the principals, to see whether their doublets were any more then sword proofe. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 39. ¶22 Modish came with his Friend to the Place of Combat; there the Principals put on their Pumps. 1743 Broughton's Rules in P. Egan Boxiana (1812–13) I. 51 In every main battle, no person whatever shall be upon the stage, except the principals and their seconds. 1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well III. iii. 51 Your principal, I presume, is Sir Bingo Binks?.. I have not forgotten that there is an unfortunate affair between us. 1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) ii. 23 ‘We may place our men, then, I think,’ observed the officer, with as much indifference as if the principals were chess-men, and the seconds players. 1848 W. K. Kelly tr. L. Blanc Hist. Ten Years II. 232 The principals were placed at forty paces from each other, and were to fire as they advanced. 1946 S. J. Perelman Keep it Crisp 161 The Times did not divulge the outcome of the spat, but I presume the principals invoked the code duello and pelted each other with Nesselrode pudding until the weaker cried uncle. 1997 Washington Post (Nexis) 12 Nov. h1 Each combatant was accompanied by a second who was to ensure that the duel was fought honestly and correctly..and, if necessary, shoot a principal who flouted the code. d. The chief person or party engaged in some transaction, business, or function, esp. in relation to another who acts as an agent or representative; the person for whom and by whose authority another acts. ΘΚΠ society > authority > delegated authority > investing with delegated authority > [noun] > one who gives a commission > one who appoints an agent or deputy constituent1622 principal1625 deputera1641 deputator1669 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 298 Those that are Seconds in Factions, doe many times..proue Principals. 1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ i. xxxviii. 76 Their Factors live in better Equippage, and in a more splendid manner, as in all Italy besides, then their Masters and Principalls in London. 1654 Pell Let. to Secr. Thurloe 29 July in Vaughan Protectorate O. Cromwell (1838) I. 35 He will say, ‘I shall report this your answer to my principals’, that is to those that sent me... It is a form of speaking not yet in fashion in England. 1707 London Gaz. No. 4368/2 The Deputy was dismissed with no other Reply than, That they would send an Answer to his Principals in due Time. 1711 J. Swift Conduct of Allies 21 We engaged in this War as Principals, when we ought to have acted only as Auxiliaries. 1788 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 496 The functions of the vice-consul would become dormant during the presence of his principal. 1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon (at cited word) He who being competent and sui juris to do any act for his own benefit or on his own account, employs another person to do it, is called the principal, constituent, or employer, and he who is thus employed is called the agent, attorney, proxy, or delegate. 1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker ix. 147 I have the honour to explain to you, sir..fifty thousand was the figure named by my principal. 1962 H. O. Beecheno Introd. Business Stud. xiii. 117 Whereas an agent is not normally allowed to relend his principal's money at interest..a bank is allowed to do this. 1991 Economist 23 Nov. 143/3 Stockbrokers in Tokyo still enjoy fixed broking commissions. They act as agents, rather than as principals. 2004 New Yorker 8 Nov. 46/2 A principal-agent relationship arises whenever one person (the principal) delegates authority to another person (the agent) to act in his interest. e. Any of the solo, leading, or principal performers in a play, opera, concert, ballet, etc. (esp. as distinguished from the chorus or ensemble). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > [noun] > soloist principal1840 soloist1864 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > performer > [noun] > types of performer > star or principal star1808 co-star1888 starlet1910 television star1931 principal1936 vedette1963 1840 Times 30 Apr. 5/4 Principals, chorus, and orchestra combining to portray collectively the workings of one mind. 1842 Times 6 Oct. 3/3 At the conclusion, the principals were called for amid very loud applause. 1881 W. H. Stone in Grove Dict. Music III. 32/1 Principals, in modern musical language, are the solo singers or players in a concert. 1920 P. G. Wodehouse Little Warrior xi. 188 Principals and chorus rehearse together, running through the entire piece over and over again. 1936 N. Streatfeild Ballet Shoes xiv. 212 The production was on a very large scale... The principals became unduly important. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 8 May 20/3 To add to my discomfort, I found the voices of the principals, Michael Cristofer and Tyne Daly, distinctly unpleasant. 1991 Opera News Sept. 55/3 Director Petrika Ionesco allowed room for his principals..to register as characters, and they responded with a seriousness that transcended the naive plot and libretto. 2001 Independent 19 July ii. 1/6 Both of the principals act their socks off, in every sense. II. Denoting chief, main, or principal things. 3. The original sum of money dealt with in any transaction, as distinguished from any later accretions; the sum lent or invested upon which interest is paid; (hence) capital as distinguished from income. Also figurative. Cf. sense A. 6. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > financial dealings > types of money-dealing > [noun] > provision of capital > capital or principal cattlec1330 chief moneyc1390 principal1390 chattel1502 stock1526 capital1569 capital stock1569 nest-egg1801 corpus1844 1390 in J. Raine Corr., Inventories, Acct. Rolls, & Law Proc. Priory of Coldingham (1841) 65 (MED) We wylle garre rayse till us alle the fermes and the profittes of Coldynghame, quylle we be assethit als wele for owr scathes and owr costages as of our principale. 1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) iv. xxi. sig. z.i The other it receyue ouer the pryncypall for to kepe hym, & to recompense hym the dammage. 1571 Act 13 Eliz. c. 8 §4 So muche as shal be reserved by way of Usurie above the Principall for any Money so to be lent. 1641 in L. B. Taylor Aberdeen Council Lett. (1950) II. 275 The haill soumes, principall, liquidat expensses, and annualrentes. 1693 J. Dryden tr. Persius Satires vi. 83 Put out the Principal..Live of the Use. 1728 T. Sheridan tr. Persius Satyrs 93 But you have broke in upon the Principal. That I did for my own Use. 1777 J. Sayer Law Costs (ed. 2) 203 The Executor moved..for Leave to pay the Principal and Interest due upon the Bond, and the Costs of the original Action. 1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I ccxiii. 109 I Have spent my life, both interest and principal. 1827 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) I. 129 The sum of the principal and its interest added together, is called the Amount. 1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd II. xi. 127 ‘You'll never see Fanny Robin no more—use nor principal—ma'am.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because she's dead in the Union.’ 1908 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 1 523 To hold as well the capital or principal of the said trust funds as the dividends, interest and annual income thereof upon the usual trusts for the children of the marriage. 1935 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (U.K. ed.) iii. 67 And the merchants and bankers, doctors and lawyers and dentists, who had money to play the market, continued to spend their principal. 1991 Fiscal Stud. Aug. 5 The nominal interest rate includes..some compensation to the lender for the fall in the real value of the principal. 4. †a. The chief or main part, point, or element of something. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > most important moreOE firstc1275 principala1393 chiefa1400 main chance1577 forefront1589 principal verb1602 centre of gravity1718 avatar1859 main stem1900 Big Apple1909 prima ballerina1923 centrepiece1937 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 1440 (MED) The science of Astronomie..principal is of clergie, To dieme betwen wo and wel In thinges that be naturel. 12 Concl. Lollards (Trin. Hall Cambr.) in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1907) 22 298 (MED) Fals beleue..is þe principal of þe deuelis craft. a1450 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 64 (MED) The heued..To serue þe brayn is pryncypal. c1450 J. Capgrave Solace of Pilgrims (Bodl. 423) (1911) 1 I schal not write but þat I fynde in auctores & þat is for a principall, or ellis þat I sey with eye and þat is for a secundari. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccccxxvi. 748 They shulde take downe the leaues of the gates of the foure princypals of the cytie. 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. x. sig. V4 That Vertue..Which..To preserue inuiolated right, Oft spilles the principall, to saue the part. View more context for this quotation 1611 W. Sclater Key to Key of Script. 40 I meane not to prosecute every particular at large; but to cull out the principals. 1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 21 A Quality is said to be an Accessory unto a Fact or Crime, which is the Principal. 1845 J. Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. (1847) I. 16/1 The words which are necessary for communicating the thought..may well be called principals, and those which only help to make out the thought more fully and distinctly may be called accessories. †b. in principal: principally, chiefly; in the main. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adverb] highlyOE overalla1225 with the firstc1300 principally1340 principalc1390 in principala1393 chiefly14.. ratherestc1400 rathestc1400 primarily1587 kat' exochen1588 paravant1590 pre-eminently1590 primely1610 cardinally1631 transeminently1642 paramountly1798 par eminence1823 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 29 (MED) Aristotle..Declareth thilke intelligences As of thre pointz in principal. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 270 To take my pleasaunce with peramours..woll I refuse, in prencipall for drede of God, for knyghtes that bene adventures sholde nat be advoutrers. 1808 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) II. 410 Thanks to my friends, and to you in principal. c. A primary or fundamental point of a subject, upon which the rest depend; = principle n.In most or all examples apparently identified with principle, or a misspelling of it; principal is common as a nonstandard spelling of principle from the 20th cent. onwards. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical reasoning > [noun] > deductivism or a priori reasoning > a principle or axiom principlea1387 maximc1450 first principle1525 ground1528 principal1545 principium1550 protasis1572 theorem1588 postulate1590 axiom1593 groundsel1604 postulatuma1620 praecognitum1624 datum1646 self-evident1675 philosopheme1678 dictum of all and none1697 dictum of Aristotle1827 prius1882 ground rule1890 posit1900 1545 G. Joye Expos. Daniel Argt. f. 5^v Let euery diligent reder knowe hymselfe miche to haue profited, if he but the cheif principalls vnderstand, although it be but meanly. 1578 in A. Macdonald & J. Dennistoun Misc. Maitland Club (1833) I. 11 The principallis of astronomie. 1663 J. Heath Flagellum (ed. 2) 4 His Father..sent him to School to learn the Elements of Language and principals of Religion. a1806 J. Barry in R. N. Wornum Lect. on Painting (1848) 158 A centre and a great uniting principal, which associates all parts of the composition. 1816 F. Accum Pract. Ess. Chem. Re-agents (1818) 51 The test combines with some principal of the body. 1893 G. Leveson-Gower Gloss. Surrey Words (at cited word) Get your wheat in forra'd, that's the principal. 5. The best item of movable property belonging to an estate, as bequeathed or inherited by custom. historical in later use.In quot. a1400: a bequest or funeral offering to the church. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > heritable property > best piece or pieces principala1400 heirship movables1478 a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 10750 (MED) She offred for hym to þe auter, Ful of wyne, a pecher, And a feyre lofe with-alle Euery day as for a pryncypalle. 1424 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 57 (MED) After my principal is taken, I wul my wyf haf my best ambeler. 1511 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 325 Forasmuch as taking of such principales is not by commene lawe, butt only by custume and usage. 1512 Will of Robert Batemanson in A. F. Leach Visitations & Memorials Southwell Minster (1891) 115 Item I bequeth my best horse for my principall. 1534 Southwell Visit. (Camden) 138 I gyffe and bequethe unto the vicar for my principall accordynge to the acte of parliament. 1670 T. Blount Νομο-λεξικον: Law-dict. Principal,..an Heir-lome. 1895 F. Pollock & F. W. Maitland Hist. Eng. Law II. ii. vi. §4. 361 There are many traces of local customs which under the name of ‘principals’ or ‘heirlooms’, will give him [sc. the heir-at-law] various chattels, not merely his ancestor's sword and hauberk, but the best chattel of every different kind, the best horse (if the church does not take it) and the best ox, the best chair and the best table, the best pan and the best pot. 1904 C. I. Elton Shakespeare 228 In the district of Archenfield..the lands were inherited by all the sons; but the eldest had certain customary ‘principals’, such as the best table, the best bed and furniture. 1942 Yale Law Jrnl. 51 1306 The custom of giving of heirlooms and principals to the eldest son, found..at least as late as the seventeenth century. 6. Building. A main rafter supporting purlins, which support the common rafters (also roof principal). Also: a main girder. Cf. sense A. 9 . ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > roof-beam > rafter > principal couple1364 principal1445 lever1481 coupling1577 chevron1580 blade1855 1445 in J. H. Fisher et al. Anthol. Chancery Eng. (1984) 298 A new Rofe for ye same hous contenyng vj bemes vj wyndbemez vj principals. 1579 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 310 Braces to the principals eche of them xij foote longe. 1624 A. Wotton Runne from Rome 4 To trie how every tenant and mortuis is fitted each to other, what principals are too weake, which peeces are too long. 1777 T. Campbell Philos. Surv. S. Ireland xvi. 146 The remainder they lay parallel to the principals. 1863 Times 16 June 8/6 None of the roof-principals..were ever planed, they were put up rough from the saw. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 25 Mar. 7/2 Four massive iron principals (or girders) of a building in course of erection..fell yesterday afternoon. 1932 T. Corkhill Conc. Building Encycl. 146 Open roof, one in which the principals are on view. No ceiling. 1976 S. G. E. Lythe Econ. Scotl. 1550–1625 v. 144 Interiors were full of wood..for roof principals were left exposed in unashamed strength, and ceilings and walls were often lined with fir boards. 7. a. The original document, drawing, painting, etc., from which a copy is made; an original. Cf. sense A. 10. Scottish in later use. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > originality or non-imitation > [noun] > an original copy14.. principal1489 authentic1599 original1683 1489–90 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 145/1 Baithe the said partiis..subscriuit the principale of this compromes. 1523 M. A. E. Wood Lett. Royal & Illustrious Ladies (1816) I. 281 I send you here inclosed the instrument..; therefore I pray you keep it, for I have the principal. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. lxxviij He shewed him the copie of the confederacie, promysing hym also the principall. 1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 43 Thou art of all This well-wrought Copy the faire Principall. 1660 S. Pepys Diary 19 May (1970) I. 148 Another pretty piece of painting I saw, of which there was a great wager laid by young Pinkny and I whether it was a principal or a copy. 1714 W. Forbes Jrnl. Session 1705–13 200 It was a Principal and not a Copy of the Contract was produced in the Process of Constitution. 1769 State Evid. in Cause Duke of Hamilton 365 Possibly it [sc. the folding and sealing of documents] may have been done, that in case the principals may have been lost, the copies might serve in their stead. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 368 Although the principals are returned to the parties, extracts from the record of sasines..are declared to be probative in all cases. 1928 Encycl. Laws Scotl. VI. 421 Official extracts from the Books of Council and Session, Registers of Sasines, and Sheriff Court Books are equivalent to the principals. 1964 A. Walker & N. Walker Law of Evidence 240 It is competent in civil litigation..for the parties to agree to accept a copy as equivalent to the principal. †b. An origin, a source. Cf. principle n. 1. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > [noun] welleOE mothereOE ordeOE wellspringeOE fathereOE headeOE oreOE wellspringOE rootc1175 morea1200 beginningc1200 head wella1325 sourcec1374 principlea1382 risinga1382 springinga1382 fountain14.. springerc1410 nativity?a1425 racinea1425 spring1435 headspring?a1439 seminaryc1440 originationc1443 spring wellc1450 sourdre1477 primordialc1487 naissance1490 wellhead?1492 offspringa1500 conduit-head1517 damc1540 springhead1547 principium1550 mint1555 principal1555 centre1557 head fountain1563 parentage1581 rise1589 spawna1591 fount1594 parent1597 taproot1601 origin1604 fountainhead1606 radix1607 springa1616 abundary1622 rist1622 primitive1628 primary1632 land-spring1642 extraction1655 upstart1669 progenerator1692 fontala1711 well-eye1826 first birth1838 ancestry1880 Quelle1893 1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. i. 27 To Jupiter also thei Sacrificed, & did honour as to y^e principall of life [L. Vitali spiritui etiam sub Iovis appellatione..divinos honores tribuere]. c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) i. 18 For heresie, Scisme, Puritanisme, Brownisme, papistrie,..Proceed from thee, thou art the principall. †8. The head, the top. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > high position > [noun] > highest point or top headOE copa1000 heightOE topc1000 highestlOE crest1382 coperounc1400 summita1425 summity?a1425 toppet1439 altitude?a1475 upperest1484 principala1533 pitcha1552 supremity1584 culm1587 period1595 spire1600 upward1608 cope1609 fastigium1641 vertex1641 culmen1646 supreme1652 tip-top1702 peak1785 helm1893 altaltissimo1975 a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1537) xlviii. f. 93 In the principall of the sayd table was pictured a Bulle. †9. An upright pillar or stem having branches to bear tapers, formerly used on a catafalque or hearse (hearse n. 2). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > life > death > obsequies > funeral equipment > [noun] > elaborate framework > parts of principal1548 ratchment1557 the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > candle > support or holder for a candle > [noun] > candelabrum branch1525 principal1548 candle-branch1599 lustre1682 chandelier1736 pharos1806 candelabrum1815 cluster-candlestick1859 lampadary1885 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. j^v A curious herse, made of .ix. principalles, full of lightes. 1555 H. Machyn Diary (1848) 90 The xvij day of Juin was the hersse fenyssyd at Powles a-boyffe the qwyer with ix presepalles garnyshyd. 1594 in Coll. Top. & Gen. (1837) IV. 286 This..Bishope of Norwiche was buried with a hearse of foure pryncypales or vprightes. 1735 A. Collins Peerage Eng. II. 37 At Ormskirk in Lancashire..was a stately Hearse erected of five Principals, 30 Foot of Heighth, 12 Foot of Length, and 9 Foot of Breadth. 1763 W. Guthrie Compl. Hist. Eng. Peerage I. 40 Also within the bars was made a hearse with five principals, which bore seven hundred lights. 1849 D. Rock Church our Fathers II. 496 These uprights [of a hearse of lights], technically called ‘principals’. †10. Falconry. Either of the two outermost primary feathers in each wing. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > parts of or bird defined by > [noun] > wing or wings > feather(s) on > primary feather(s) > outermost principal1575 standard1859 1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 120 Then cutte off some part of hir two principalles in eache wing. 1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Ep. Ded. So finally flyeth this our new Poete, as a bird, whose principals be scarce growen out. 1674 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation ii. 100 Every falcon ought to have a Make-Hawk, to teach her to hold in the Head: if that will not doe, cut off some part of her two Principals in each Wing. 1891 J. E. Harting Bibliotheca Accipitraria Principals, the two longest feathers in the wing of a hawk. 11. Music. †a. The subject of a fugue or other contrapuntal piece, as distinguished from the answer or ‘reply’. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > type of piece > piece in specific form > [noun] > fugue > subject principal1597 dux1740 guide1753 proposition1876 subject2005 diminished subject- 1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 105 The first [sort of double descant] is, when the principall (that is the thing as it is firste made) and the replie..are sung changing the partes. 1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett Dict. Musical Terms 366/1 Principal, the subject of a fugue, the answer being termed the Reply. b. An organ stop of the same quality as the open diapason, but an octave higher in pitch. Also (with modifying word) applied to other stops an octave higher than the ordinary pitch, as dulciana principal (see dulciana n., dulcet n. 2). small principal n. now historical a stop two octaves higher than the open diapason; now called fifteenth. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > stop > diapason tone stops > principal principal1613 small principal1613 octave1716 octave stop1730 subprincipal1825 super-octave1884 1613 in C. Beswick Organs Worcester Cathedral (2004) 5 The particulars of the great organ... Two principals of mettal. Two Smal principals or 15ths of metal. One twelfth of mettal. 1613 in C. Beswick Organs Worcester Cathedral (2004) 5 In the Chaire Organ One principal of mettal, One flute of wood One Small principal or fiftenth of mettal. 1776 J. Hawkins Gen. Hist. Music IV. i. §10. 46 The simple stops are the..Principal..and some others. 1789 Organ Specif. Greenwich Hosp. in G. Grove Dict. Music (1880) II. 598/1 Swell Organ. Open Diapason. Stopped Diapason. Dulciana. Principal. Dulciana Principal. 1881 J. Broadhouse Student's Helmholtz 219 The principal is a stop of four feet in length. 1999 New Straits Times (Malaysia) (Nexis) 12 Apr. (Arts section) 3 The Diapason or the Principal is an open metal pipe which gives the very typical organ sound. 2001 New Grove Dict. Music (Online ed.) at Organ stop Early contracts qualify it [sc. the fifteenth] as ‘small principal’. †c. The name of a trumpet part used in the scores of Handel; the trumpet itself. Obsolete.Probably never used in English except in this context. Grove Dict. Music (2001) at Principale notes: ‘A trumpet register and a style of playing from the 16th century to the 18th... The terms ‘Principale’ (the register) and ‘Principalblasen’ (playing in the principale register) were German, and were not used in other countries.’ ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > brass instruments > [noun] > trumpet > types of lilting-hornc1384 claranerc1410 clarinec1440 trumpet1440 sordine1591 sordine trumpet1616 clarion1621 alchemy1667 sourdinea1678 jubil-trumpet1715 lituus1776 sea-trumpet1776 penny trumpet1783 salpinx1865 principal1876 valve trumpet1877 tuba1882 kakaki1932 zugtrompete1978 vuvuzela2003 1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett Dict. Musical Terms 366/1 Principal, the name given by Handel to the third trumpet in the ‘Dettingen Te Deum’. 1881 W. H. Stone in Grove Dict. Music III. 32/1 Principal or Prinzipale, a term employed in many of Handel's scores for the third trumpet part... It is obvious that whereas the tromba..represented the old small-bored instrument now obsolete,..the Principal..more nearly resembled the modern large-bored military trumpet. †C. adv. Principally, chiefly; in the first place, most of all. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adverb] highlyOE overalla1225 with the firstc1300 principally1340 principalc1390 in principala1393 chiefly14.. ratherestc1400 rathestc1400 primarily1587 kat' exochen1588 paravant1590 pre-eminently1590 primely1610 cardinally1631 transeminently1642 paramountly1798 par eminence1823 c1390 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 146 But ȝit me merueyles ouer al Þat God let mony mon croke and elde..Þat þei may not hem-self a-welde; And now þis beggers most principal, Þat good ne profyt may non ȝelde. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 61 (MED) Of Theorique principal The Philosophre in special The propretees hath determined. a1425 Templum Domini in R. Cornelius Figurative Castle (Ph.D. diss., Bryn Mawr Coll.) (1930) 104 (MED) If a man in his entent Will loue any thynge gret or smalle..Þat thynge he will chese princypale. a1525 Coventry Leet Bk. 288 For the wele of the kyng & you hertely pray I shall, And for prince Edwarde, my gostly chylde, whom I love principall. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 2895 Of what lond were þo louely, hit list hom to wete, And prinsipall of Parys. a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 53/23 He suspectit principall James Kennidie bischope of Sanctandrois. Compounds principal boy n. the leading male role in a pantomime, usually played by a woman; an actress playing this role. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > pantomime > [noun] > role or character hobby-horse1557 harlequin1590 play-mare1598 Columbinea1723 clown1727 hobby1778 pantaloon1781 harlequiness1785 Pierrot?1789 pierrette1847 harlequina1867 dobby1879 principal boy1892 principal girl1893 dame1902 1892 Times 21 Nov. 3/3 The defendant..entered into a contract with the plaintiff to take the part of principal boy in his pantomime of Aladdin. 1896 Pall Mall Mag. Oct. 302/1 She was still playing principal boy in the pantomime—a gay, gallant Prince, in plumed cap and tights. 1901 R. J. Broadbent Hist. Pantomime xxi. 224 Towards the close of the 'fifties..the character of Harlequin began to be played by women, the origin of what is now known as the ‘principal boy’. 1932 D. L. Sayers Have his Carcase xv. 201 Airy-fairy-Lilian they used to call me when I was principal boy in old Rosenbaum's shows. 2001 Guardian 20 Jan. (Weekend Suppl.) 3/1 In recent years, we have seen the decline of the Principal Boy, traditionally played by an attractive, athletic girl with extremely good gams. principal challenge n. Law (now rare) a challenge against a jury, or against a particular juror, alleging a fact that, if proved, would disqualify such jury or juror as a matter of law.In quot. 1607 with slightly different sense; apparently = peremptory challenge n. at peremptory adj. 1b. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > [noun] > enrolment of jury > objection against jurymen peremptory exception1413 peremptory challenge1530 peremptory1606 principal challenge1702 1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. M4^v/2 Challenge principall (otherwise..called peremptorie) is that, which the lawe alloweth without cause alledged, or farder examination.] 1702 W. Bohun Privilegia Londini 180 His real or personal Estate shall be worth 100 Marks, and the Jurors defect herein is a principal Challenge. 1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. xxiii. 363 A principal challenge is such, where the cause assigned carries with it prima facie evident marks of suspicion, either of malice or favour. 1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. ii. iii. 354 Where there are manifest reasons of suspecting partiality..in which case the challenge is called a principal challenge. 1978 Stanford Law Rev. 30 491 The ‘principal’ challenge was allowed as a matter of course upon a showing that the sheriff, who chose the jury, was related to one of the parties by blood or affinity. 1994 D. S. Campbell Free Press v. Fair Trial 9 These are called principal challenges..because the partiality of the potential jurors is clear to all. principal component n. Statistics the linear combination of the components of a set of data (regarded as points in a multidimensional space) which contributes most strongly to the variance of the set; frequently attributive (in singular or plural), designating a method of analysis which involves finding the principal component and removing the variance due to it, and repeating this operation successively. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > distribution > variability or spread > measures of > relating to variance heteroscedasticity1905 homoscedasticity1905 covariance1931 communality1933 principal component1933 1933 H. Hotelling in Jrnl. Educ. Psychol. 34 421 We..determine the components, not exceeding n in number, and perhaps neglecting those whose contributions to the total variance are small. This we shall call the method of principal components. 1963 R. R. Sokal & P. H. A. Sneath Numerical Taxon. vii. 195 Two different methods of factor analysis are customarily practiced: the principal components method is largely employed by British factor analysts. 1994 Observatory 114 98 Stephen Fossey..described the use of Principal Component Analysis as a technique for describing the relationships between variables in a sample of multivariate data. principal diagonal n. Mathematics (in a determinant or square matrix) the line of elements running diagonally from the upper left to the lower right corner. ΚΠ 1862 G. Boole in Philos. Trans. (Royal. Soc.) 152 235 It is desirable to employ fixed language in referring to this. We shall therefore call the quantities A₁, A₂..A_n the ‘principal elements’, and the diagonal series of terms which they form the ‘principal diagonal’. 1964 N. N. Hancock Matrix Anal. Electr. Machinery ii. 18 A ‘scalar’ matrix is a diagonal matrix in which all the elements on the principal diagonal are equal. 2003 Jrnl. Devel. Econ. 72 347 The coefficients are normalised with a value of one along the principal diagonal of the matrix. principal focus n. Optics the focus of rays that strike a lens or spherical mirror parallel to its axis. ΚΠ 1672 I. Newton in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 7 5085 This Table shews, how much the exterior rays, at several Apertures, fall short of their principal focus. a1764 J. Harris Treat. Optics (1775) i. 60 An object placed nearer a convex lens..than its principal focus..will have no real image. 1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. xxxv. 415 The focus into which parallel rays are collected, or from which they are made to diverge, is called the principal focus of a surface or substance. 1939 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. 29 253 The light from an electric bulb, rendered nearly parallel by a condenser, filled a large lens at whose principal focus the eye was placed. 1985 R. Muncaster A-level Physics (ed. 2) xix. 314 The focal point (principal focus) of a converging lens is that point, on the principal axis of the lens, to which rays of light which are parallel and close to the axis converge after refraction at the surfaces of the lens. principal girl n. the leading female role in a pantomime; an actress playing this role. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > pantomime > [noun] > role or character hobby-horse1557 harlequin1590 play-mare1598 Columbinea1723 clown1727 hobby1778 pantaloon1781 harlequiness1785 Pierrot?1789 pierrette1847 harlequina1867 dobby1879 principal boy1892 principal girl1893 dame1902 1893 H. F. McLelland Jack & Beanstalk 11 She's Jill, our ‘principal girl’, the gallery's joy. 1897 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 23 Jan. 88/1 Why..is the ‘principal boy’ expected to be more vulgar than the principal girl? 1962 Oxf. Mail 24 Dec. 6/6 He met his wife in pantomime at Lincoln. ‘She was the principal girl, Maid Marion. I was just one of the bad robbers.’ 2005 Herald Express (Torquay) (Nexis) 17 Jan. 18 A principal girl who looks good and can sing and act well, who could fail to be enchanted by her? principal ideal n. Mathematics an ideal (ideal n. 4) all of whose elements can be generated by multiplying a given member of the associated ring by each member (including itself) in turn. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > set > in abstract algebra > ring ideal1898 principal ideal1901 ring1915 subring1917 skew field1965 1901 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 23 70 Determining whether a given principal ideal be the p^th power of a principal ideal, where p is a prime number. 1965 J. J. Rotman Theory of Groups iv. 66 A principal ideal domain is a domain in which every ideal is a principal ideal. 1970 D. M. Burton First Course in Rings & Ideals ii. 19 An ideal (a) generated by just one ring element is termed a principal ideal. principal ideal ring n. Mathematics a ring (ring n.¹ 15) in which every ideal is a principal ideal. ΚΠ 1937 A. A. Albert Mod. Higher Algebra xi. 255 Every two quantities of a principal ideal ring have a greatest common divisor. 1996 R. Gandy in A. F. Clark et al. Legacy Alan Turing vii. 132 Unique factorization in principal ideal rings. principal investigator n. the leading researcher or scientist on a collaborative, typically grant-funded research project; the leader of a team of researchers; abbreviated PI.Recorded earlier with the general sense ‘most important investigator’. ΚΠ 1825 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. 9 281 Tilden's plants, in the Sherardian Herbarium, are from Moosefactory, near the bottom of Hudson's Bay... On the northwest coast, Mr. Menzies has been the principal investigator.] 1906 R. S. Woodward Rep. of President in Carnegie Inst. Washington Year Bk. 21 There have been about three hundred and sixty men and women at work under grants during the past year... They may be classified departmentally as shown in the following list, which gives..the names of the principal investigators conducting these works of research. 1985 M. Parfit South Light (1988) xvi. 197 The two men were friends, but you knew who was the grad student, who was the Principal Investigator. 2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 2 Feb. a14/4 The study's principal investigator..identified what he called the ‘poverty penalty’, pointing out that the working poor were far more likely to have lost income since the storm. principal normal n. Geometry the normal drawn to a given point on a curve and located in the plane containing the direction of curvature at that point. ΚΠ a1832 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) II. 153 This normal, the direction of which is the limit of the direction of the line of junction, has been designated by the name of the principal normal. 1902 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 24 36 The tangent to the involute, the principal normal to the evolute and the tangent to the spherical indicatrix of the evolutes, are parallel lines. 1999 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 455 3164 Directional derivatives in the tangential, principal normal and binormal directions. principal quantum number n. Physics the quantum number symbolized by n (see N n. 6c), which determines the orbital energy of an electron (to the first order) and takes positive integral values. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > [noun] > quantum number quantum number1902 quantum defect1915 principal quantum number1922 magnetic quantum number1923 1922 A. D. Udden tr. N. Bohr Theory of Spectra iii. i. 67 This quantum number which will always be denoted by n will therefore be called the ‘principal quantum number’ [Da. Hovedkvantetallet]. 1973 J. G. Tweeddale Materials Technol. I. ii. 23 A specific maximum possible number of orientations of orbital pattern..is possible for each mode, the number being determined by the relevant Principal Quantum Number. 1994 Nature 25 Aug. 593/1 They expect that they will be able to do this only if the electrons are relatively far from the nucleus, meaning that they will have a principal quantum number, n, that is relatively large, or that the atom is in a Rydberg state. principal photography n. Film and Television the phase of film or television production during which the main scenes, involving the principal cast, are filmed; (also) the filming of such scenes.Often contrasted with pre-production n. 2 and post-production n.; also contrasted with supplementary filming carried out by the second unit (second unit n. at second adj. and n.² Additions) and with pickup shots (pickup shot n. at pickup n. and adj. Compounds 3) and reshoots (reshoot n. 2b). ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > [noun] > main phase of filming principal photography1948 1948 Motion Picture Herald 3 Jan. 35/2 ‘Joan’, Sierra Pictures'..life of Joan of Arc, completed principal photography, after being before the cameras since September 16. 1982 Film Comment Sept. 71/1 Jean Negulesco was assigned to direct the funeral train footage, with the remainder of principal photography to be done by Hawks. 2009 Times 18 July (Sat. Review) 2/2 Principal photography has just begun in Hong Kong for The Kung Fu Kid. principal ray n. †(a) Perspective the straight line from the point of sight normal to the plane of delineation or to the eye (obsolete); (b) Optics a ray passing through or reflected at the centre of a lens or mirror, or passing through the centre of the entrance pupil. ΚΠ 1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. at Plane Vertical Plane, in Opticks and Perspective, is a Plain Surface which passeth along the Principal Ray, and consequently thro' the Eye, and is perpendicular to the Geometrical Plane. a1830 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) III. 454/2 On account of this property, the ray OI is called the principal ray... The principal ray would be that which entered or emerged at the summit of the curvature. 1838 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 128 387 Some have maintained..that the visible direction of an object coincides with the visual ray, or the principal ray of the pencil which flows from it to the eye. 1970 M. Born & E. Wolf Princ. Optics (ed. 4) iv. 186 There will be a ray which passes through the centre of the entrance pupil. This special ray is known as the principal ray (also the chief or the reference ray) of the pencil. 2002 E. Hecht Optics (ed. 4) iv. 266/2 One exception is the case in which the aperture stop is at the lens, so that the chief ray is, in effect, the principal ray. principal section n. Crystallography the cross-section of a crystal containing its optic axis and the direction of a given ray of light. ΚΠ a1830 J. F. W. Herschel Light in Encycl. Metrop. (1845) IV. 516 The section A, then, (which..we will call the principal section of the mica plate,) is characterised by two remarkable lnes..along which, if a polarized ray be incident, its polarization will not be disturbed by the action of the plate. 1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 57/1 One [focal line] lies in the plane containing the principal ray and the axis of the system, i.e. in the ‘first principal section’ or ‘meridional section’, and the other at right angles to it, i.e. in the second principal section or sagittal section. 1976 Social Stud. Sci. 6 147 The orientation of these sides with respect to the crystal axis would determine whether the ray..became polarized parallel to or perpendicular to the principal section of the crystal. principal stress n. Mechanics and Geology each of the three purely tensile or compressive stresses acting in mutually perpendicular directions into which any combination of stresses acting at a point can be resolved. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > stress or force exerted and tending to deform > [noun] > mutually perpendicular principal stress1858 1858 W. J. M. Rankine Man. Appl. Mech. i. v. 94 The three conjugate normal stresses are called principal stresses, and their directions, principal axes of stress. 1944 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. vi. 78 The various types of faults depend on the relationships between the three principal stresses. 1990 P. Kearey & F. J. Vine Global Tectonics viii. 147 The principal stress directions show that the descending plate is thrown into either downdip compression or extension. principal value n. [after French valeur principale ( A.-L. Cauchy Résumé des leçons données à l'Ecole Royale Polytechnique sur le calcul infinitésimal (1823) 96, with reference to integrals)] Mathematics a unique value, chosen by convention as the simplest or most important value, of a many-valued function such as an indefinite integral or an inverse sine. ΚΠ 1857 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 147 779 The value of the integral obtained will be that which Cauchy terms its principal value. 1879 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 2 137 The principal value which h may assume is 1. 1961 C. C. T. Baker Dict. Math. 246 In the case of sin⁻¹x, the principal value is the angle between −½π and + ½π. 1989 Q. Jrnl. Mech. & Appl. Math. 42 186 The bar through the integral sign denotes the Cauchy principal value of the integral. † principal verb n. Obsolete figurative the chief or most important thing or (occasionally) person.This metaphor seems likely to have arisen from the earlier widespread use of principal verb in its literal sense (see sense A. 7a) in pedagogical grammars from at least the early 15th cent. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > most important moreOE firstc1275 principala1393 chiefa1400 main chance1577 forefront1589 principal verb1602 centre of gravity1718 avatar1859 main stem1900 Big Apple1909 prima ballerina1923 centrepiece1937 1602 R. Parsons Warn-word iv. xiv. f. 115 Immediatly after the words in Durand..followeth Gregorius tamen loquitur, but S. Gregory speaketh of them. This Syr Frauncis dasheth out, which was a principal verb in this matter. 1616 J. Lane Contin. Squire's Tale vii. 582 ‘Sirrah,’ Cambuscan lowrd, ‘all yee haue loste Your principale verbe (credite) which yee boste’. 1670 Remarks Present Condition Navy 18 The Quality of the Commodity is not considered, but the Gratuity given the Officer is the principal Verb. 1728 R. North Mem. Musick (1846) 80 The violin was scarce knowne tho' now the principall verb. 1794 J. Caulfield Portraits Mem. & Characters II. 159 It was found that [the highwayman known as] Mull'd-Sack was the principal verb in this matter. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adj.n.adv.c1300
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