adj.
- first in order of importance; main.
- denoting an original sum of money invested or lent.
n.
- the most important or senior person in an organization or group.
▸the head of a school or college.
▸(in certain professions) a fully qualified practitioner.
- a sum of money lent or invested, on which interest is paid.
- a person for whom another acts as an agent or representative.
▸Law a person directly responsible for a crime.
- a main rafter supporting purlins.
- an organ stop sounding a set of pipes typically an octave above the diapason.
Derivative
Usage
On the confusion of principal and principle, see usage at principle.
Etymology
ME: via OFr. from L. principalis ‘first, original’, from princeps, princip- ‘first, chief’.