Definitions for Principle
ˈprɪn sə pəlprin·ci·ple

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.5 / 2 votes

1. principle, rulenoun

   a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct

   "their principles of composition characterized all their works"

2. principlenoun

   a rule or standard especially of good behavior

   "a man of principle"; "he will not violate his principles"

3. principlenoun

   a basic truth or law or assumption

   "the principles of democracy"

4. principle, rulenoun

   a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system

   "the principle of the conservation of mass"; "the principle of jet propulsion"; "the right-hand rule for inductive fields"

5. principle, preceptnoun

   rule of personal conduct

6. rationale, principlenoun

   (law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature)

   "the rationale for capital punishment"; "the principles of internal-combustion engines"

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. principlenoun

   A fundamental assumption.

   We need some sort of principles to reason from.

2. principlenoun

   A rule used to choose among solutions to a problem.

   The principle of least privilege holds that a process should only receive the permissions it needs.

3. principlenoun

   Moral rule or aspect.

4. principlenoun

   A rule or law of nature, or the basic idea on how the laws of nature are applied.

5. principlenoun

   A fundamental essence, particularly one producing a given quality.

6. principlenoun

   A beginning.

   Doubting sad end of principle unsound. uE000115793uE001 Spenser.

7. Etymology: From principe, from principium, from princeps; see prince.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Principlenoun

   Etymology: principium, Lat. principe, Fr.

   1. Element; constituent part; primordial substance.

   Modern philosophers suppose matter to be one simple principle, or solid extension diversified by its various shapes. Isaac Watts.

   2. Original cause.

   Some few, whose lamp shone brighter, have been led,
   From cause to cause to nature’s secret head,
   And found that one first principle must be. Dryden.

   For the performance of this, a vital or directive principle seemeth to be assistant to the corporeal. Nehemiah Grew, Cosmol.

   3. Being productive of other being; operative cause.

   The soul of man is an active principle, and will be employed one way or other. John Tillotson, Sermons.

   4. Fundamental truth; original postulate; first position from which others are deduced.

   Touching the law of reason, there are in it some things which stand as principles universally agreed upon; and out of those principles, which are in themselves evident, the greatest moral duties we owe towards God or man, may, without any great difficulty, be concluded. Richard Hooker.

   All of them may be called principles, when compared with a thousand other judgments, which we form under the regulation of these primary propositions. Isaac Watts, Logick.

   5. Ground of action; motive.

   Farewel, young lords; these warlike principles
   Do not throw from you. William Shakespeare.

   As no principle of vanity led me first to write it, so much less does any such motive induce me now to publish it. William Wake.

   There would be but small improvements in the world, were there not some common principle of action, working equally with all men. Joseph Addison, Spectator, №. 255.

   6. Tenet on which morality is founded.

   I’ll try
   If yet I can subdue those stubborn principles
   Of faith, of honour. Joseph Addison, Cato.

   A feather shooting from another’s head,
   Extracts his brain, and principle is fled. Alexander Pope.

2. To Principleverb

   Etymology: from the noun.

   1. To establish or fix in any tenet; to impress with any tenet good or ill.

   Wisest and best men full oft beguil’d,
   With goodness principl’d not to reject
   The penitent, but ever to forgive,
   Are drawn to wear out miserable days. John Milton.

   It is the concern of his majesty, and the peace of his government, that the youth be principled with a thorough persuasion of the justness of the old king’s cause. South.

   There are so many young persons, upon the well and ill principling of whom next under God, depends the happiness or misery of this church and state. Robert South, Sermons.

   Governors should be well principled and good-natured. Roger L'Estrange.

   Men have been principled with an opinion, that they must not consult reason in things of religion. John Locke.

   Let an enthusiast be principled, that he or his teacher is inspired, and you in vain bring the evidence of clear reasons against his doctrine. John Locke.

   He seems a settled and principled philosopher, thanking fortune for the tranquility he has by her aversion. Alexander Pope, to Swift.

   2. To establish firmly in the mind.

   The promiscuous reading of the bible is far from being of any advantage to children, either for the perfecting their reading, or principling their religion. John Locke.

WikipediaRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Principle

   A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed. The principles of such a system are understood by its users as the essential characteristics of the system, or reflecting system's designed purpose, and the effective operation or use of which would be impossible if any one of the principles was to be ignored. A system may be explicitly based on and implemented from a document of principles as was done in IBM's 360/370 Principles of Operation. Examples of principles are, entropy in a number of fields, least action in physics, those in descriptive comprehensive and fundamental law: doctrines or assumptions forming normative rules of conduct, separation of church and state in statecraft, the central dogma of molecular biology, fairness in ethics, etc. In common English, it is a substantive and collective term referring to rule governance, the absence of which, being "unprincipled", is considered a character defect. It may also be used to declare that a reality has diverged from some ideal or norm as when something is said to be true only "in principle" but not in fact.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. principle

   A principle is a fundamental truth, law, doctrine, or motivating force, upon which others are based. It serves as a basis for behavior, belief or reasoning, typically established as universally accepted or inherently necessary in a specific field, idea, or system. Principles are the foundational concepts that guide decision making, actions and help in determining right from wrong.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Principlenoun

   beginning; commencement

2. Principlenoun

   a source, or origin; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element, or cause

3. Principlenoun

   an original faculty or endowment

4. Principlenoun

   a fundamental truth; a comprehensive law or doctrine, from which others are derived, or on which others are founded; a general truth; an elementary proposition; a maxim; an axiom; a postulate

5. Principlenoun

   a settled rule of action; a governing law of conduct; an opinion or belief which exercises a directing influence on the life and behavior; a rule (usually, a right rule) of conduct consistently directing one's actions; as, a person of no principle

6. Principlenoun

   any original inherent constituent which characterizes a substance, or gives it its essential properties, and which can usually be separated by analysis; -- applied especially to drugs, plant extracts, etc

7. Principleverb

   to equip with principles; to establish, or fix, in certain principles; to impress with any tenet, or rule of conduct, good or ill

8. Etymology: [F. principe, L. principium beginning, foundation, fr. princeps, -cipis. See Prince.]

WikidataRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. Principle

   A principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed. The principles of such a system are understood by its users as the essential characteristics of the system, or reflecting system's designed purpose, and the effective operation or use of which would be impossible if any one of the principles was to be ignored. Examples of principles: ⁕a descriptive comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption, ⁕a normative rule or code of conduct, ⁕a law or fact of nature underlying the working of an artificial device.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Principle

   prin′si-pl, n. a fundamental truth on which others are founded or from which they spring: a law or doctrine from which others are derived: an original faculty of the mind: a settled rule of action: (chem.) a constituent part: (obs.) a beginning.—v.t. to establish in principles: to impress with a doctrine.—adj. Prin′cipled, holding certain principles.—Principle of contradiction, the logical principle that a thing cannot both be and not be; Principle of excluded middle (logic), the principle that a thing must be either one thing or its contradictory; Principle of sufficient reason (see Reason).—First principle, a very general principle not deducible from others. [L. principium, beginning—princeps.]

The Roycroft DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. principle

   1. Bait. 2. A formula for doing a thing that, unformulated, would land the doer in jail. (Must not be confused with the word _principal_. Both words are used correctly in the following sentence: One may live one's life without principle, but not without principal. Or, again, Principle is sometimes principal; but principal has no principle. Or, The principal was never paid on principle.)

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. principle

   A perfect universal truth or law.

   The universe has some basic principles e.g. we are all from the same creator.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on December 31, 2019  

2. ---

   principle

   A person, business, company, enterprise, organization, unity assembly, unity council, unity legislature, unity senate, unity government, house of representatives, local unity government, regional unity government, national unity government, european unity government or international unity government with the official obligation or contract to provide a service, commodities, goods or products.

   The principle contractor provided a portion of the services, a portion are subcontracted to other service providers.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on March 28, 2020  

3. ---

   principle

   A rule of personal conduct.

   They were a couple of principles which they valued and respected together.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on December 31, 2019  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Principle

   Principle vs. Principal -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Principle and Principal.

2. Principle

   Principal vs. Principle -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Principal and Principle.

Matched Categories

1. • Explanation
   • Generalization
   • Law
   • Rule
   • Value

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Principle' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1242

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Principle' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1908

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Principle' in Nouns Frequency: #303

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce Principle?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Principle in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Principle in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Principle in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of Principle in a Sentence

1. Mainland Affairs Council:

   Before the suspects are judged to have committed a crime, the principle of presumption of innocence should apply.

2. State John Kerry:

   And I believe that in the conversation that we had, we have reached a provisional agreement in principle on the terms of a cessation of hostilities that could begin in the coming days.

3. Justice Louis Brandeis:

   At the foundation of our civil liberties lies the principle that denies to government officials an exceptional position before the law and which subjects them to the same rules of conduct that are commands to the citizen.

4. Andreas Scheuer:

   The principle of freedom has proven itself. Whoever wants to drive 120 can drive 120, and those who want to go faster can do that too. Why this constant micromanagement?

5. De Rugy:

   At a time when we are confronted by climate change with phenomena such as the current heatwave, we reaffirmed our ambitions with this law... by inscribing in marble the principle of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Principle
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Principle
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=Principle
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Principle
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Principle
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=Principle
9. ^ The Roycroft Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36566/36566-h/36566-h.htm#:~:text=Principle
10. ^ Usage in printed sources
    https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Principle