| 释义 |
principlen. Origin: Probably of multiple origins. Probably partly a borrowing from French. Probably partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French principe; Latin principium. Etymology: Probably (with parasitic -l- ) < Middle French, French principe fundamental concept in a science (c1245 in Old French), origin, source, first cause (c1265), rule of conduct (mid 14th cent.), fundamental source from which something proceeds, fundamental truth used as a basis of further reasoning, important proposition in a discourse (all second half of the 14th cent. or earlier), precept (end of the 15th cent. or earlier), (in alchemy) one of several simple substances of which all bodies were believed to be composed (early 16th cent. or earlier), (in physics) component part, constituent (of matter) (1636), (in chemistry) element (1680; now rare) and its etymon classical Latin principium principium n. With the parasitic -l- compare Old French principle beginning, point of departure (late 12th cent. in an apparently isolated attestation), and also manciple n., participle n., syllable n., treacle n. In Middle English and Older Scots β forms are common, and probably result largely from association with principal n., principal adj., with which there has probably always been some semantic association (compare principal n. 4c, 7b, which could alternatively be interpreted as showing forms of the present word influenced by association with principal n.). (In modern use, especially from the 20th cent. onwards, misspellings of the noun as principal are common; compare also discussion at principal n.)Compare Old Occitan principi (15th cent. or earlier), principe (beginning of the 16th cent. or earlier), Catalan principi (14th cent.), Spanish principio (second half of the 13th cent. or earlier), Portuguese principio (14th cent.), Italian principio (beginning of the 13th cent. or earlier). With in principle at sense 4c compare French en principe (1792). With on principle at sense 4d compare French par principe (1755). Sense 8a is apparently not paralleled in French until later (1611 in Cotgrave). I. Origin, source; source of action. 1. the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > [noun] a1382 (Bodl. 959) Job xxviii. 1 Siluer haþ þe principlis [a1425 L.V. bigynnyngis; L. principia] of his veynes, & to gold is a place in þe whiche it is blowen togidere. a1400 tr. Lanfranc (Ashm.) (1894) 287/2 (MED) If it so be þat þe splene be þe principal of þe dropesie, þan þe kuttynge muste be in þe riȝtside. 1649 Bp. J. Taylor ii. 14 Jesus..is the principle, and he is the promoter, he begins our faith in revelations, and perfects it in commandments. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil 71 With Osiers thus the Banks of Brooks abound, Sprung from the watry Genius of the Ground: From the same Principles grey Willows come. View more context for this quotation 1717 A. Pope tr. Plutarch in A. Pope tr. Homer III. ix. Observ. 725 Generation is divine, because God is the Principle of all things. 1809 H. More II. xxxiii. 106 There is no mark,..which more clearly distinguishes that humility which has the love of God for its principle, from its counterfeit, a false and superficial politeness. a1834 S. T. Coleridge (1839) IV. 166 We should distinguish the personeity or spirit, as the source and principle of personality, from the person itself. 1904 Sept. 416 Philosophically this is neither Pluralism nor out-and-out Monism. It is not the former because ultimately no other source of being but God, no principle of life but the Divine, is recognised. 1949 M. C. Fitzpatrick tr. St. Thomas Aquinas xi. 127 If the powers of the soul are something other than its essence, it must be the case that they flow from the essence of the soul as from a principle. 1982 K. L. Schmitz 103 In a word, then, the term actual designates a principle not a principiate, a source not a result. the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > [noun] > a property, quality, or attribute the world > existence and causation > causation > basis or foundation > [noun] > basis or fundamental principle the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > process of reasoning, ratiocination > argument, source of conviction > [noun] > logical sequence > basis of a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 129v Matiere and fourme beþ principales of alle bodily þingis. 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville (Caxton) (1859) 74 Nothyng cometh of nouȝt, that is to seye, withoute a begynner, but a cause and pryncyple ther must nedes be. 1526 W. Bonde i. sig. Diiii Certaynly, grace is in man the chefe principle of meryt. c1540 (?a1400) 3634 Paris, þat is prinsipall of our pure hate, Iff hit happe vs to hent, hongit shalbe. 1632 T. Hooker 248 This is a new principle of life, and out of this gratious disposition the soule is now growne to hate sinne freely. 1704 J. Swift Disc. Mech. Operat. Spirit ii, in 300 Those Idolaters adore two Principles; the Principle of Good, and That of Evil. 1780 J. Bentham (1789) i. §2 (note) The word principle..is applied to any thing which is conceived to serve as a foundation or beginning to any series of operations. 1849 H. M. Noad (ed. 3) 134 Electricity..for a time, reigned as the vital principle, by which ‘the decrees of the understanding, and the dictates of the will were conveyed from the organs of the brain to the obedient member of the body’. 1871 J. S. Blackie i. 20 Thales said that the first principle of all things was water. 1972 R. L. Fox I. v. 81 He would now overcome them by an expert use of varied weaponry, the main principle of his military success. the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > beginning > [noun] a1449 J. Lydgate (1934) ii. 777 (MED) Knyghthood in Grece and Troye, the Cite, Took hys principlys. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 105 (MED) The londe of promission hathe..the begynnenges of that water callede Tiberiades, and of the water off Iordan, whiche haue their originalle principle at the foote of the mownte callede Libanus. 1553 R. Eden in tr. S. Münster Pref. sig. Aijv Reason vsing sense, taketh his principles and fyrst sedes of thinges sensyble. 1596 E. Spenser v. xi. sig. X2 Doubting sad end of principle vnsound. View more context for this quotation 1674 J. Evelyn 46 From how small a principle she had spread. 1674 J. Evelyn 47 Richlieu..by..Improving their Ports and Magazines, has..given Principle to no inconsiderable Navy. 12 Concl. Lollards (Trin. Hall Cambr.) in (1907) 22 298 (MED) Fals beleue..is þe principal of þe deuelis craft. c1395 G. Chaucer 487 Ye han..Compassion..Of verray wommanly benygnytee That nature in youre principles [v.r. principiis] hath set. ?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius iii. met. xi. 23 His soule..hath, by naturel principles kyndeliche yhyd withynne itself, al the trouthe the which he ymagineth to ben in thinges withoute. 1642 D. Rogers 136 A man..who hath no inward principle of skill to enable him, in comparison of a skilfull workeman. 1669 S. Sturmy Summary of Penalties & Forfeitures in n ij Out of a Principle of good will I have to you. 1711 E. Budgell No. 116. ⁋1 Every Man has such an active Principle in him, that he will find out something to employ himself upon. 1733 A. Pope ii. 43 Two Principles in Human Nature reign; Self-Love, to urge; and Reason, to restrain. 1796 J. Morse (new ed.) I. 201 They, from a principle of instinct, affix themselves to her teats. 1823 W. Scoresby 75 Several of them followed the ship, and seemed to be attracted by a principle of curiosity. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato (ed. 2) IV. 229 The comparison of sensations with one another implies a principle which is above sensation. 1952 P. Federin xiii. 272 It was Freud's conviction that all these kinds of destruction are due to one and the same principle, the death instinct. 1982 J. Campbell iv. xvi. 194 High levels of nervous energy..were unpleasurable to the conscious brain, which was strongly inclined to the pleasurable process of discharge, to what Freud called the ‘nirvana principle’. II. Fundamental truth or law; motive force. 3. the mind > mental capacity > belief > [noun] > system of belief, creed > basis of the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical reasoning > [noun] > deductivism or a priori reasoning > a principle or axiom a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 251 (MED) Plato afterward made þat art [of logic] more and fonde þerynne meny principles and rules. c1400 J. Wyclif (1880) 290 (MED) The þridde manere of errour þat falliþ in mannes iugement is falceheed of here prynciple þat þei groundem hem on. c1475 (c1447) in R. H. Robbins (1959) 180 (MED) O nature, thy principles how hastow conveyed, O elementes iiij sette in grete variaunce. a1538 T. Starkey (1989) 11 Thys law ys the ground & end of the other, to the wych hyt must ever be referryd, non other wyse then the conclusyons of artys mathematical are ever referryd to theyr pryncypullys. 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay ix. 139 Is not this a setting downe of that thing for a ground, which..resteth to be prooued, and (to speake after his owne maner) a crauing of the principle? 1664 H. Power Pref. sig. C Hence wil unavoidable follow some other Principles of the ever-to-be-admired Des-Cartes. 1705 E. Scarburgh 58 The nearer any Proposition comes to a Principle, or an evident Truth, as this Proposition doth, the more difficult it is to be demonstrated. 1732 G. Berkeley I. iii. i. 156 Principles at other times are supposed to be certain fundamental Theorems in Arts and Sciences, in Religion and Politics. 1825 J. R. McCulloch 61 (heading) Principles of political economy. 1869 Jan. 284 He yields a real, though reluctant, homage to the principle that every event must have a cause. 1950 D. Cusack Morning Sacrifice in i. 187 His two sacred principles of the significance of the semi-colon and the progressive deterioration of all literature since Shakespeare. 1983 B. A. K. Rider 3 (Introd.) The principles upon which liability for breach of relationship are based are fundamental propositions of the English law. 2004 H. Kennedy (2005) xi. 232 The desire to care for the poor, the vulnerable, the old, and those with disabilities... is a basic principle of morality. the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical reasoning > [noun] > deductivism or a priori reasoning > a principle or axiom 1525 T. Rychard i. sig. Cvi v So the very ground of al hys heuynes was..forgetyng of diuyn gouernance as touchynge the kende of man vich errour he was fallen in by false deduction fro hys firste principles. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Mark in I. viii. f. lix Yet was this a rudiment and first principle (suche as it was) of the euangelyke and christen profession, the mystery wherof, was not as yet to be disclosed to the common sorte. 1638 F. Junius 10 The first principles..of these Arts of imitation. 1671 J. Locke (1931) 21 It is here well to be considered, whether it be true that there are certain..first principles, in which all mankind do universally agree. 1701 J. Norris I. ii. 75 As much above the Possibility as the Necessity of Demonstration, in one Word, a very first Principle. 1785 T. Reid vi. vi There are also first principles in morals. 1817 S. T. Coleridge I. xii. 260 Those original and innate prejudices..which to all but the philosopher are the first principles of knowledge. 1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato I. 711 And this is the reason why every man should expend his chief thought and attention on the consideration of his first principles:—are they or are they not rightly laid down? 1934 19 July 497/2 It is to Coleridge's search for first principles in literature that appeal is made. 1961 10 Feb. 7 Once you have absorbed the first principles in art. 2004 27 May 40/2 Postmodernism..denies the validity of universals and first principles, and encourages a kind of..browsing in the cultural shopping mall of ideas and experiences. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > branch of knowledge > systematic knowledge, science > [noun] > scientific procedure 1723 J. Clarke tr. I. i. xiv. 85 From this Principle [of the parallelogram of forces], the Method of explaining the Forces of the Mechanick Powers..may excellently well be deduced. 1828 F. Watkins 18 A fundamental principle of magnetism may be shown by freely suspending on its centre of gravity an artificial bar magnet. 1838 A. De Morgan 49 Principle II. The probability of any number of independent events all happening together, is the product of their several probabilities. 1925 H. C. Booth tr. F. Auerbach (U.K. ed.) vii. 162 From the principle of reciprocal action it necessarily follows..that if an electric current exerts a pondero-motive effect on a magnet, the converse must also happen. 1933 A. W. Barton ix. 200 Maxwell's law of distribution of velocities among the molecules follows merely from the application of the principles of classical mechanics. 1938 42 394 A very old and fundamental principle of aeromechanics. 2001 S. Hong iii. 62 The principle of inductive coupling, as it appeared in Marconi's ‘four-seven’ patent, became an important part of Fleming's long-distance work. 4. society > morality > [noun] > principle(s) the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [noun] > moral principle(s) the mind > will > motivation > [noun] > motive > general or fundamental the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > serious saying, dictum > [noun] > as rule of conduct, etc. ?1533 G. Du Wes sig. Aiii To teche and instruct by the principles and reules made by diuers well expertz auctours. 1590 R. Greene ii. sig. B2 You keepe the prouerbe for a principle, to bed with the Bee and vp with the Larke. a1635 R. Sibbes (1638) 224 Naturall men..have principles of their owne; to love themselves, and to love others onely for themselves. a1684 J. Evelyn anno 1656 (1955) III. 179 Some Quakers..a new phanatic sect of dangerous Principles,..shew no respect to any man, magistrate or other. 1765 H. Walpole (ed. 2) III. 39 He painted the great staircase, and as ill, as if he had spoiled it out of principle. 1791 J. Boswell anno 1763 I. 226 [Johnson:] This shews that he has good principles. 1844 B. Disraeli III. viii. iii. 213 Before I support Conservative principles,..I merely wish to be informed what those principles aim to conserve. 1854 J. H. Newman iv. ii. 223 The barbarian lives without principle and without aim. 1908 E. F. Benson 50 Your principle, for instance, of never condemning other people breaks down as soon as their actions begin to affect you. 1986 F. McGowan & C. Trengrove i. i. 14 The danger now is that these principles may only be honoured in the breach. 2004 30 May i. 30/3 Hanscomb lists the principles of ‘officership’: commitment, mutual trust and self-sacrifice. society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > [noun] 1653 O. Cromwell Speech 4 July in (1945) (modernized text) III. 65 If I were to choose any servant,..I would choose a godly man that hath principles,..because I know where to have a man that hath principles. 1698 J. Collier 287 The management of the Stage..strikes at the Root of Principle, draws off the Inclinations from Virtue, and spoils good Education. 1704 J. Harris I. (at cited word) We say, a Person is a Man of Principles, when he always acts according to the Eternal Rules of Morality, Virtue and Religion. 1722 D. Defoe 68 Thus my Pride, not my Principle..kept me Honest. 1874 G. Bancroft i. 87 He had brilliant powers, but little principle. 1894 F. Watson v. 103 The religion of the prophets..the religion of principle rather than of law, and of morality rather than of ritual. 1956 M. Dickens xi. 230 You can't understand that, because you don't know the whole story, and anyway, you've got no principles. 1998 July 1/2 We live in an age when, too often..principles are replaced by expediency. the mind > mental capacity > belief > speculation > confirmation of hypothesis, theory > [adverb] > as opposed to in practice 1756 E. Perronet i. xxxiv. 8 This refers..to such members of the Church of England, as, either in principle or practice, imitate too closely the bad example of their ancient mother the Church of Rome. 1820 G. Canning in Countess of Airlie (1922) I. vi. 102 So objectionable does it appear to them in principle as well as in practice. 1859 Palmerston in P. Guedalla (1928) 117 The First Method would evidently be the best in Principle. 1874 ‘G. Eliot’ 15 July (1956) VI. 67 I am thoroughly opposed in principle (quite apart from any personal reference to myself) to the system of contemporary biography. 1932 295 These [proposals] were rejected by Washington, but the latter made a counter-proposal: that France accept the scheme ‘in principle’, and leave to a conference of technical experts those practical modifications which she desired. 1963 Richardson & Toynbee 87 When we say that we know a thing it involves us in saying that it is, at least in principle, verifiable by the senses. 2005 28 Feb. 83/3 It had been an article of faith that, armed with logic, mathematicians could in principle resolve any conundrum. society > morality > [phrase] > as a matter of moral principle the mind > will > motivation > [phrase] > from a settled motive 1775 N. W. Wraxall 264 Our English papers, which are reflectively and on principle the avowed vehicles of falshood over all Europe. 1824 W. S. Landor II. xiv. 267 Principles do not much influence the unprincipled, nor mainly the principled. We talk on principle, but we act on interest. 1871 J. R. Lowell Pope in (1890) IV. 26 There was a time when I could not read Pope, but disliked him on principle. 1894 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ II. xxi. 90 She had no particular dislike for Francie..but on general principles she was pleased that discomfiture had come to Miss Fitzpatrick. 1930 J. C. Ransom ii. viii. 173 It is like the flattery of the man who flatters us on general principles. 1956 D. Knight (1968) 149 Three of the best are the result of a serious attempt to graft the mainstream short story onto science fiction. I dislike these three on principle. 2000 W. Self (2001) xii. 294 I exclude the aristocracy on principle—and because they're all fucking Krauts anyway. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > capacity for exertion of mechanical force > motive power or force 1645 J. Milton On University Carrier ii, in 29 And like an Engin mov'd with wheel and waight, His principles being ceast, he ended strait. 1776 tr. G. Beccaria vi. 57 We consider that this glass is the sole moving principle of the contrary electricities in the apparatus. 1830 Chron. in 84/1 A steam-carriage..made its way through a crowded passage, without any perceptible impulse..; one gentleman directed the moving principle, and another appeared to sit unconcerned behind. 1833 J. H. Newman v. 378 The error..of mistaking whatever shows itself on the surface of the Apostolic Community..for the real moving principle and life of the system. 1958 18 May 14/2 ‘Contradiction is the very moving principle of the world!’ The Box, with its abrupt switches from the trivial to the profound, is always providing illustrations to Hegel's pet dictum. 2001 (Nexis) 21 Mar. 40 Modern liberalism, which puts freedom first, provides a moving principle and a spring of action. the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] > an essential quality or principle 1662 B. Gerbier 1 The three chief Principles of Magnificent Building, viz. Solidity, Conveniency, and Ornament. 1706 (new ed.) (at cited word) The Epicurean Principles, are Magnitude, Figure, and Weight. 1808 J. Webster (new ed.) 16 We clearly view the effects of attraction..but human ingenuity has not been able to fathom its principle or essence. 1817 J. Mill II. v. iii. 388 This was the principle and essence of his plan. 1862 F. D. Maurice v. §35. 163 [This] indeed must involve the very principle and meaning of the subject with which he is occupied. 2001 No. 26. 13/2 To find a good quality Shu Fa print, you should look for..originality, even to the point of eccentricity, without violating the li (the principles or essence) of things. 7. the world > matter > physics > [noun] > specific concepts or principles of > theoretical principle deduced from fact > specific society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [noun] > science or knowledge of > principle of operation 1770 A. Young II. vii. 103 His drill plough is of his own invention; upon the principle of the Persian Wheel, lifting the feed up and throwing it over into the tubes that convey it into the ground. 1802 W. Paley iii. 29 Constructed upon strict optical principles; the self-same principles upon which we ourselves construct optical instruments. 1829 (Libr. Useful Knowl.) I. ii. 8 The principle of the Archimedian Screw is occasionally adopted in the wheel-form. 1858 D. Lardner (new ed.) 255 This thermometer is sometimes varied in its form and arrangement, but the principle remains the same. 1925 H. C. Booth tr. F. Auerbach (U.K. ed.) ix. 217 The magnetic compass has in many cases been abandoned in favour of one based on a quite different principle, the gyro-compass. 1949 A. C. Walshaw (ed. 3) xi. 245 Make sketches to show the principle underlying Stephenson's link motion for the reversing of steam engines. 1995 19 Sept. 6/7 The end result is based on the same principle as the Wonderbra—a pair of jeans which pushes up saggy behinds. 1821 J. Q. Adams in C. Davies (1871) iii. 121 The real original connection between the cubic foot and the English bushel was not formed by avoirdupois weights and water, but by the easterling pound of twelve and fifteen ounces and Gascoign wine. It was the principle of the quadrantal and congius of the Romans, applied to the foot and the nummulary pound of the Greeks. III. Rudiment, element. 8. society > education > learning > study > subject or object of study > [noun] > rudiments 1532 L. Cox f. viv Ouer great curiosity in the fyrst principles make hym that is studiouse of the facultie either to forsake it: or els to attayne it with very great and tedyouse labour. 1534 T. Elyot tr. Isocrates 7 These be the principles and chiefe introduction to the right..gouernance of a publike weale. 1540 J. Palsgrave in tr. G. Gnapheus sig. Aiiv Than shulde the wyllynge scolers, whiche hadde all redy gotten their grammaticall principles, be so euidently encouraged to go forwarde. 1667 C. Simpson (title) A compendium of practical musick in five parts: teaching, by a new, and easie method, 1. The rudiments of song. 2. The principles of composition. [etc.] 1706 (new ed.) (at cited word) Principles are the first Grounds and Rules.., otherwise call'd Elements and Rudiments; as the Principles of Geometry, Algebra, Astronomy, &c. 1898 C. King 38 That green youngster up there in front hasn't learned the first principles of plainscraft yet. the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > embryo or fetus > embryo parts > [noun] > rudiment 1665 R. Hooke 123 The putrifying substances on which these Eggs, Seeds, or seminal principles are cast by the Insect. 1721 R. Bradley 109 All the Trunk of a Tree..is fill'd with Principles or little Embrio's of Branches. 1732 G. Berkeley I. iii. i. 156 Sometimes by Principle we mean a small particular seed, the growth or gradual unfolding of which doth produce an Organized Body, animal or vegetable. 9. the world > matter > alchemy > alchemical elements > [noun] a1550 ( G. Ripley (Bodl. e Mus.) f. 43v Mercurie of other mettales essenciall, Is the principle of our stone materiall. 1646 Sir T. Browne ii. v. 86 And so likewise in the extinction of gold, we must not conceive it parteth with any of its salt or dissoluble principle thereby.., for the parts thereof are fixed beyond division; nor will they seperate upon the strongest test of fire. View more context for this quotation 1661–80 R. Boyle i. 80 They do not pretend by fire alone to separate out of all compound Bodies their Hypostatical Principles. 1728 E. Chambers (at cited word) The Chymists make five Principles; three whereof are call'd active Principles, viz. Salt; Sulphur, or Oil; and Mercury, or Spirit... The two passive Principles, are Phlegm, and Caput Mortuum. 1740 G. Smith tr. (rev. ed.) ix. 219 In this Manner are extracted from roses the three..principles,..spirit, oil, and salt. 1910 I. 521/1 The operator had to remove from ordinary mercury earth or an earthy principle or quality, and water or a liquid principle, and to fix it by taking away air or a volatile principle. 1991 M. Haeffner 115 Paracelsus retained the theory of four elements, but made the universe dependent upon three principles..of salt, sulphur and mercury, which animate the phenomenal world. the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > constituent part or component 1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte iv. 41 The seed and menstruall blood which are two materiall principles of which we be formed, are hote & moist, through which temperature children are so vnskilled. 1615 H. Crooke 33 There are two materiall principles, the Crassament or substance of the seede..and Bloud. 1644 in S. Tymms (1850) 187 My body I committ to the earth whereof it was framed, knowing it must returne to its first principles. 1655 T. Fuller Hist. Univ. Cambr. iv. 66 in Within few years, hither came a Confluence of Buyers, Sellers, and Lookers on, which are the three Principles of a Fair. 1682 T. Creech tr. Lucretius i. 3 Curious Nature joyns, The various Seed, and in one Mass combines, The jarring Principles. 1732 G. Berkeley I. iii. i. 156 Sometimes by Principles we mean the parts of which a whole is composed, and into which it may be resolved. Thus the Elements are said to be principles of compound bodies. And thus words, syllables, and letters are the principles of Speech. 1785 J. Feron I. 559 Pump water..generally contains the same principles, except such as have a superabundance of calcareous earth. the world > matter > chemistry > chemical assay or analytical chemistry > [noun] > analytical constituents 1708 tr. J. P. de Tournefort ii. i. i. 261 Upon a chymical Analysis, Rosemary..yields a copious Quantity of Oil and urinous Spirit: So that the chief active Principle of this Plant is an oily and aromatick Salt. 1732 J. Arbuthnot i. 259 By which Principles they [sc. spices] are heating, and act strongly. 1769 E. Bancroft 299 It is but seldom that either Animal or Vegetable Poisons derive their deleterious properties from either of these principles. 1799 1 161 The narcotic principle is contained chiefly in those vegetables which..have a direct tendency to induce sleep. 1813 H. Davy iii. 84 The bitter principle is very extensively diffused in the vegetable kingdom. 1842 E. A. Parnell (1845) 284 To coagulate various animal principles which may be present. 1875 H. C. Wood (1879) 26 The active principle of the vegetable astringents is tannic acid,..it is almost their sole therapeutic principle. 1910 VIII. 749/1 Two colouring principles exist in Old Fustic, namely, morin and maclurin. 1953 R. W. Fairbrother (ed. 7) xxix. 350 Sodium thioglycollate is the active principle of Brewer's medium.., which is now widely used in the investigation of the anaerobes. 2001 June 24/4 Other members of the Solanum genus contain the same poisonous principle. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † principlev.Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: principle n. Etymology: < principle n. With sense 1a compare Middle French principier to instruct (a person) in the rudiments of (a field of knowledge) (1532 in an apparently isolated attestation). With sense 2 compare earlier principiate v. Obsolete. 1. society > education > teaching > [verb (transitive)] > ground or initiate 1608 D. Tuvill f. 124v Simplicitie hath principled her selfe with stronger Axiomes then heeretofore. 1651 in T. Fuller 130 Urbanus Regius was borne..of honest parents, who principl'd him in the rudiments of Learning. a1661 T. Fuller (1662) Durh. 300 Pious and orthodox Professors to have Principled and Elemented the Members therein with Learning and Religion. 1690 J. Locke i. iii. 25 Such, who are careful (as they call it) to principle Children well. 1732 S. Rudd 26 A due care in principling the young and tender mind. 1743 W. Shirley Let. 8 July in W. S. Perry (1873) III. 372 The most Critical Time of life for principling the mind. 1760 L. Sterne (1773) vi. 73 He had been so principled and instructed as to observe a scrupulous nicety..in the lesser matters of his religion. a1823 E. Sampson (1855) 424 Parents and preceptors can hardly do a better service for their children, than by principling their minds. the mind > will > motivation > persuasion > persuade (a person) [verb (transitive)] > bend, incline, or dispose > dispose to an action or state 1650 9 If Religion had no place in us, yet Reason or self-Love would principle us otherwise. 1712 M. Henry Serm. Death R. Stretton in (1853) II. 392/2 O that grace might..principle you with a concern for their spiritual lives. a1716 R. South (1744) XI. 305 It is not the mere interest of his own salvation, but of God's honour, that principles and moves him in the whole course of his actions. 1758 P. Williamson 38 The religion of Jesus principling them against Violence and Blood-shed was the sole Cause why they were dilatory in the Affair. the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > originate or be a source of [verb (transitive)] 1650 T. Vaughan 2 They would ground Nature on Reasons fram'd and principl'd by their own Conceptions. 1668 J. Owen xv. 259 All neglect of private duties is principled by a weariness of God. 1675 R. Burthogge 242 Reflecting on the Perpetuity, the Constancy, the Order in the Motion of the Heavens, not conceiving it imaginable how any lower Being should be able to inspire, and principle it, He concludes that God did. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online December 2019). <  n.a1382 v.1608 |
