Principle
nounA fundamental truth, law, or moral rule that guides behaviour or explains how something works.
How to spell principle
9 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce principle
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does principle mean?
- nounA fundamental truth, law, or moral rule that guides behaviour or explains how something works.
Principle in a sentence
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He acted out of principle rather than self-interest.
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She refused on principle.
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The principle of gravity is well established.
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It's a matter of principle, not money.
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She refused to bend on a single principle.
Where does principle come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word comes from the Latin principium, meaning 'a beginning' or 'a foundation', which was built on princeps, the person who takes first place, from primus 'first' and capere 'to take'. English borrowed it through Old French as principe before the modern spelling settled in the late 1300s, when it came to mean a fundamental truth, rule, or basis of conduct. Over time it gathered its two everyday strands: a basic law of nature or science, and a moral rule that governs how a person behaves. The very same princeps root still sits inside 'prince' and 'principal', and that shared ancestry is precisely why principle and principal are so easily confused in writing. A useful memory hook is that a princip-le is a rul-e, both ending in -le, while the princip-al person at a school is your pal.
How the word is built
- princip- (from princeps, "first")
- -le
Words that sound like principle
They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.
- principal: The person with the highest authority in a school, college, or organisation.
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