principal
/ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/ adjective, noun
Forms principals principall
- adjective Primary; most important; first level in importance. “Smith is the principal architect of this design.”
- adjective (obsolete, Latinism) Of or relating to a prince; princely.
- adjective (mathematics) Chosen or assumed among a branch of possible values of a multi-valued function so that the function is single-valued. “Two is the principal square root of 4. Both −2 and +2 are square roots of 4.”
- noun (finance, uncountable) The money originally invested or loaned, on which basis interest and returns are calculated. “A portion of your mortgage payment goes to reduce the principal, and the rest covers interest.”
- noun (Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines) The chief administrator of a school.
- noun (UK, Canada) The chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college.
- noun (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. “When an attorney represents a client, the client is the principal who permits the attorney, the client′s agent, to act on the client′s behalf.”
- noun (law) The primary participant in a crime.
- noun Either party in a duel.
- noun (Canada, US) A partner or owner of a business.
- noun (music) A type of stop on a pipe organ consisting of flue pipes with a bright tonal quality. They are also sometimes referred to as a diapason.
Synonyms
chief main primary capital headteacher headmaster headmistress dean rector client ringleader proprietor school principal head teacher head star lead corpus principal sum dealer master
Etymology
From Middle English principal, from Old French principal, from Latin prīncipālis.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Highest in rank, authority, character, importance, or degree; most considerable or important; chief; main; as, the principal officers of a Government; the principal men of a state; the principal productions of a country; the principal arguments in a case.
- adjective Of or pertaining to a prince; princely. [A Latinism] [Obs.]
- noun A leader, chief, or head; one who takes the lead; one who acts independently, or who has controlling authority or influence; as, the principal of a faction, a school, a firm, etc.; --distinguished from a subordinate, abettor, auxiliary, or assistant.
- noun Hence: (Law) (a) The chief actor in a crime, or an abettor who is present at it, - -as distinguished from an accessory.
Etymology [F., from L. principalis. See Prince.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “principal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details