Principally

How to spell principally

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce principally

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does principally mean?

1. adverbFor the most part; mainly or chiefly.

Principally in a sentence

• The budget is principally spent on staff salaries.

• The region's economy depends principally on tourism.

Where does principally come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adverb traces back to the Latin principalis, meaning 'first in rank' or 'chief', which was itself built on princeps, the word for the person who takes first place, formed from primus 'first' and capere 'to take'. English took the adjective 'principal' through Old French in the 1300s, and the adverb 'principally', meaning 'chiefly' or 'mainly', was formed in English by adding the ordinary -ly ending. The same princeps root still lives inside 'prince' and 'principle', which is exactly why principal and principle are so often confused. The spelling trap in principally is its quiet doubled letters and unstressed middle: the -ally ending stacks the -al of principal onto -ly, giving two l's, while the schwa vowels in the middle hide how the word is built. Remembering that it is simply principal plus -ly keeps the double l and the -pal (not -ple) spelling in place.

How the word is built

• princip- (from princeps: first, chief)
• -al (adjective suffix)
• -ly (adverb suffix)