Principal

/ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/ · adjective

Meaning

Primary; most important; first level in importance..

Definitions by Sense

1. Primary; most important; first level in importance.
2. (obsolete, Latinism) Of or relating to a prince; princely.
3. (mathematics) Chosen or assumed among a branch of possible values of a multi-valued function so that the function is single-valued.
4. (finance, uncountable) The money originally invested or loaned, on which basis interest and returns are calculated.
5. (Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines) The chief administrator of a school.
6. (UK, Canada) The chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college.
7. (law) A legal person that authorizes another (the agent) to act on their behalf; or on whose behalf an agent or gestor in a negotiorum gestio acts.
8. (law) The primary participant in a crime.

Example Sentences

Smith is the principal architect of this design.

The principal cause of the failure was poor planning.

In a word, the Epiſodes of Homer are complete Epiſodes; they are proper to the ſubject, because they are drawn from the ground of the fable; they are ſo joined to the principal action, that one is the neceſſary conſequence of the other, either truly or probably: and laſtly, they are imperfect members which do not make a complete and finiſhed body; for an Epiſode that makes a complete action, cannot be part of a principal action; as is eſſential to all Epiſodes.

For many years, Oslo had no railway communication with Bergen and Stavanger, the principal seaports on the south-west coast.

The principal treasure of ths department, however, is the Stele of Hammurabi (1792—1750 B.C.), king of the first Babylonian kingdom, a basalt cylinder 2.25m/7ft 5in. inscribed with Hammurabi's laws written in Akkadian in cuneiform script.

In theory, there are the same number of principal components as there are variables, but in practice, usually only a few of the principal components need to be identified to account for most of the data variance.

I understand that feeling. Through 20 years in the industry, I've stayed on the staff engineer's path, and I'm now a senior principal engineer, parallel to a senior director on my company's career ladder.

But walkt at will, and wandred to and fro, / In the pride of his freedome principall.

Synonyms for principal

Antonyms for principal

Related Words

Word Forms

• more principal
• most principal
• principall
• principals

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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