princess
UK /pɹɪnˈsɛs/ · US /ˈpɹɪnsɛs/ noun, proper noun
Forms princesses princesse
- noun A female member of a royal family other than a queen, especially a daughter or granddaughter of a monarch.
- noun A woman or girl who excels in a given field or class.
- noun (now archaic) A female ruler or monarch; a queen.
- noun The wife of a prince; the female ruler of a principality. “Princess Grace was the Princess of Monaco.”
- noun A young girl; used as a term of endearment.
- noun (derogatory, chiefly US) A young girl or woman (or less commonly a man) who is vain, spoiled, or selfish; a prima donna.
- noun A tinted crystal marble used in children's games.
- noun A type of court card in the Tarot pack, coming between the 10 and the prince (Jack).
- noun The title of a princess.
- proper noun (rare, common in Philippines) A female given name from English.
Etymology
From Middle English princesse, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman princesse, Old French princesse. By surface analysis, prince + -ess.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince. Dryden.
- noun The daughter of a sovereign; a female member of a royal family.
Etymology [F. princesse. See Prince, and cf. Princesse.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “princess”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details