prince 
Christmas prince. See Christiana. Grand prince, or 
great prince, (a) A titlu of various rulers or princes in 
Russia. See grand duke (b), under grand. (6) A title of 
the emperor of Austria (as Grand Prince of Transylvania). 
Merchant prince. See merchant. Prince bishop, 
formerly, a ruler who was at once the bishop of a diocese 
(or other spiritual ruler) and a sovereign prince ; espe- 
cially, such a prince ana prelate of the German empire ; 
also, in Montenegro, the chief ruler, or vladika, who was 
at the same time the head of the national church. 
The eldest of these three persons was no other than 
Massalskl, the Prince-bishop of Wilna in Lithuania. 
Edinburgh Rev., CXLV. 2. 
Prince consort. See consorti. Prince Elector, one of 
the electors of the former German empire. Prince im- 
perial, the eldest son of an emperor. Prince of Peace 
the Messiah ; Christ. 
For unto us a child Is Imrn : . . . and his name shall be 
called . . . The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The 
Prince of Peace. Isa. Ix. 6. 
Prince of the Captivity, the title assumed by the head 
of the Mesopotanuan community of the Jews subsequent 
to the destruction of Jerusalem. 
Those [Jews] of the East were ruled by the Prinee of the 
Captivity, who had his seat at Bagdad, which they called 
Babylon , and those of the West under the Patriarch of 
the \Vest, who had his seat at Tiberias. The Prince ojf the 
Captivity was a secular ruler, and pretended to be a de- 
scendant of the royal house of David ; the Patriarch of the 
West was an ecclesiastical ruler, of the sacerdotal tribe of 
LevL The first Prince of the Captivity that we hear of was 
Huna, about the year 220. .V. ana (,'. , 7th ser., IL 176. 
Prince of the senate. See princeps senat-ut, under prin- 
ceps. Prince Of this world, in Scrip., Satan. 
Now shall the prince of thit world be cast out 
John xil. 31. 
Prince Of Wales, in England, the title given to the eldest 
son of the sovereign and heir apparent to the throne. The 
title is created in every case, and not hereditary. It dates 
from the reign of Edward III. Prince of Wales's fea- 
thers. See .feather. Prince President, a title given to 
Prince Louis Napoleon while he was presidentof the French 
republic, 1848-52. Prince royal, the eldest son of a king 
or queen ; the heir apparent. - Prince Rupert's drop. 
Same as detonating bulb (which see, under detonating). 
Prince's metal, mixture, etc. See metal, etc. The 
prince of darkness. See darkness. =8yn. 1-4. Prince, 
King, Sovereign, Monarch, Emperor. Prince has a narrow 
and a broad meaning. It may indicate a son of the JWP- 
ereign. or the grade of prescriptive rank next to that of the 
soeereii/n, or it may be a general word for king, etc., as of- 
ten in Shakspere. A country not large enough to be ruled 
by a l,in : i may he ruled by a prince, as some of the states of 
Germany, and Montenegro. Sovereign is an Impressive but 
somewhat general term, being applicable to a king or an 
emperor, and expressing a high degree of power and digni- 
ty. Monarch expresses the fact of ruling alone, and there- 
fore is generally, though not necessarily, applied to one 
ruling autocratically and with splendid state, with similar 
figurative use. Kmpf^ror is sometimes affected, as a grander 
word than king, and seems to express more of absolute 
rule, but there have been kings of all degrees of abso- 
lutism and grandeur. Historically, emperor is especially 
associated with military command. 
prince (prins), v. .; pret. and pp. princcd, ppr. 
printing. [< prince, .] To play the priuce; 
put on a stately arrogance : with a complemen- 
tary it. 
Nature prompts them 
In simple and low things to prince it much 
Beyond the trick of others. 
Shalt., Cymbeline, ill. 3. 85. 
princeage (priii'saj), n. [< prince + -aye.] The 
body of princes. [Rare.] Imp. Diet. 
princedom (prins'dum), . [< prince + -dom.] 
1. The rank, estate, or jurisdiction of a prince. 
Next Archlgald. who for his proud dlsdayne 
Deposed was from princedome soverayne. 
Spenser, F. Q., II. x. 44. 
After that God against him war proclaim 'd, 
And Satan princedom of the earth had clalm'd. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, H., Eden. 
2. Same as principality, 5. 
Under thee, as head supreme, 
Thrones, princedom*, powers, dominions, I reduce. 
Milton, P. L., ill. 320. 
princehood (prius'hud), H. [< prince + -hood.} 
The quality or rank of a prince. 
Promysyng and behlghtyng by the faith of hys body 
and worde of his princehode. Hall, lien. VI., an. 4. 
A Prince might feel that he must maintain the principle 
which underlies his princehood. 
Xev York Semi-weekly Tribune, Nov. 16, 1886. 
Princeite (pviu'sit), . [< Prince (see def.) + 
-ifc 2 .] A follower of Henry James Prince, who 
founded tiu association called Agapeinone. See 
Agapemone. 
princekin (prins'kiu), u. [< prince + -tow.] A 
youiig or little priuce ; a petty or inferior prince. 
The princekins of private life, who are flattered and wor- 
shipped. Thackeray, Newcomes, Hi!. 
princeless (prins'les), . [< prince + -less.'] 
Without a prince. 
This country is Princeless I mean, affords no Royal 
natives. Putter, Worthies, III. 38. 
princelet(prius'let), H. l< prince + -let.} Same 
as princi'kin. 
German princeleti might sell their country piecemeal to 
French or Russian. Kingdey, Alton Locke, xxxii. 
4729 
princelike (prius'lik), a. [< prince + like*.] 
Befitting a prince ; like a prince. 
I ener set my fotestepps frc, 
Princelike, where none had gone. 
Dmn I, tr. of Horace's Ep., To Miecenas. 
The wrongs he did me 
Were nothing prince-like. 
Shak., Cymbeline, v. :>. 293. 
princeliness (prius'li-nes), n. The quality of 
being princely. 
princeling (prins'ling), n. [< prince + -liny 1 .] 
Same as princekin. 
The struggle In his own country has entirely deprived 
him of revenues as great as any forfeited by their Italian 
priiuxliiiyx. Disraeli, Lothair, xlix. (Dames.) 
princely (prins'li), a. [= D. prinselijk = G. 
imnslich = Dan. prindselig; as prince + -/if 1 .] 
. Pertaining or belonging to a prince ; having 
the rank of a prince ; regal. 
In Tarquin's likeness I did entertain thee. . . . 
Thou u rong'st his honour, wouud'st his princely name. 
Shak., Lucrece, 1. 599. 
Princely dignities, 
And powers that erst in heaven sat on thrones. 
Milliui, P. L, I. 359. 
2. Resembling a priuce ; princelike ; having 
the appearance or manner of one high-born; 
stately; magnanimous; noble. 
He Is as full of valour as of kindness ; 
Princely In lx>th. Shak., Hen. V., iv. 3. 16. 
U h:it sovereign was ever more princely in pardoning in- 
juries, in conquering enemies, in extending the dominions 
and the renown of his people ? 
Macaulay, Conversation between Cowley and Milton. 
She gazed upon the man 
Of princely bearing, tho* in bonds. 
Tennyson, Pelleaa and Ettarre. 
3. Befitting a prince; munificent; magnificent; 
regal: as, & princely gitt; a princely banquet; a 
princely fortune. 
There also my Lord did condole the Death of the late 
Queen, that Duke's Grandmother, and he received very 
princely Entertainment. llowell, Letters, I. vL ,,. 
= 8yn. 2. August, Imperial. 3. Bounteous, 
princely (prins'li), adr. [< princely, a.] In a 
priucelike manner; royally. 
Doth it not show vilely in me to desire small beer? . . . 
Belike then my appetite was not princely got 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., 11. 2. 12. 
princeps (prin'seps), o. and H. [L., first, chief, 
prince: see prince.'] I. a. First; original; 
hence, specifically, earliest printed ; belonging 
to the first edition. 
The princeps copy, clad In blue and gold. 
J. Ferriar, Bibliomania, I. 6. 
H. n.; pi. principt'ti (priu'si-pez). 1. One 
who is first or chief; a chief; specifically, in 
early Tent, hist., a chief judicial ofccer or leader 
in a pagus or other division. Attached to him 
was a body of attendants called the comitatits. 
Over each of their local divisions or pagl, at their own 
pleasure and on a plan which in their eves was a prudent 
one, a single princeps or chief tain presided. 
Stuubs, Const Hist, 22. 
2. That which is first, foremost, original, or 
principal; especially, the first or original edi- 
tion of a book: short for princeps edition, or 
rililin princeps. 3. [cap.] [NL.] In entom., a 
genus of lepidopterous insects. Hiibner, 1806. 
Princeps cervicis, a large branch of the occipital ar- 
tery descending the neck to supply the trapezius, and anas- 
tomosing with the superncialis colll, vertebral, and supe* 
rior intercostal arteries. Princeps polllcia, a branch 
of the radial, at the beginning of the deep palmar arch, 
supplying the integument of the palmar surface of the 
thumb. Princeps senatus, In ancient Borne, the sen- 
ator first called In the mil of senators. He was usually of 
consular and censorial! dignity. 
prince "s-feather (priu'sez-feTH'er), u. 1. A 
plant, Amarantns hypochondriacus. It Is a showy 
garden annual from tropical America, sometimes G feet 
tall, bearing thick crowded spikes of small red flowers, 
the uppermost spike much longer and interrupted. The 
name sometimes extends to other species of the genus. 
Also Prince-oS- Wales's-feather. 
2. A taller garden annual, Polyi/oiiuin orientale, 
in England called tall pcrsicaria, bearing slen- 
der spikes on curving branches. Also called 
ragged-sailor. 
prince's-pine (prin'sez-piu), n. See pine 1 . 
princess (priu'ses), u. [< ME. princesse = D. 
primes = G. primesse, primes* = 8w. prinsessa 
= Dan. prinsesse, < OF. (and F.) princesse (= 
Pr. princcssa = Sp. priiicesu = Pg. princeza = 
It. principessa), < ML. *j>niicy>ma, princess 
(found only as an abstract noun, principality, 
priucipate), fern, of L. princeps, priuce: see 
prince.] 1. A female sovereign; a woman of 
princely rank. 
How doth the city sit solitary, . . . she that was great 
among the nations, and a princess among the provinces ! 
Lam. 1. 1. 
So excellent a princess as the present queen. Sw(ft. 
principal 
2. The daughter of a sovereign; a female mem- 
ber of a royal family : in this sense a title of 
courtesy. Compare prince, 4. 
I'll tell yon who they were, this female pair, 
Lest they should seem princesses in disguise. 
Byron, Don Juan, IL 124. 
Their Majestlea. the Prince of Wales, and the three eld- 
est princesses went to the Chapel Royal. 
Thackeray, Four Georges, George the Second. 
3. The consort of a prince : as, the Princess of 
Wales. 
Duke Victor (the hereditary prince) was fifty yean of 
age, and Ma princess . . . was scarce threc-and-twenty. 
Thackeray, Barry Lyndon, x 
Such apparel as might well beseem 
His (Gemini's) princes, or Indeed the stately Queen. 
Tennyson, Geraiut. 
4. A size of roofing-slate 24 inches long by 14 
inches wide. Compare duchess, 2 Princess 
royal, the eldest daughter of a king or queen. 
princesse (prin-ses'), a. [< F. princesse, prin- 
cess : see princess.] In dressmaking, noting the 
form and style of a long gown for women, made 
in one continuous piece without drapery, and 
fitting closely. Demi-pi incesse, a gown of which a 
part only, as the back, is in one piece from top to bottom. 
princessly (prin'ses-li). . [< princess + -fy 1 .] 
Princess-like ; having the air or the pretensions 
of a princess. Byron. [Rare.] 
The busy old tarpaulin uncle I make but my ambassa- 
dor to Queen Annabella Howe, to engage her(for example- 
sake to her princesfly daughter) to join in their cause. 
Kichardson, ( larissa Uarlowe, L 180. (Duties.) 
princewood (prins'wud), . A light-veined 
brown West Indian wood, the product of i'or- 
dia gerascanthoides and Ilamelia centricosa 
the latter also called Spanish elm. 
princified (prin'si-fid), a. [< prince + -i-fy + 
-t<r~.] Imitating a prince; ridiculously digni- 
fied. 
The English girls . . . laughed at the princified airs 
which she gave herself from a very early age. 
Thackeray, Virginians, v. 
principal (prin'si-pal), a. and 11. [< ME. prin- 
cipal, prynsipall, < OF. (and F.) principal = Sp. 
Pg. principal = It. principale, < L. principahs, 
first, original, chief, <princeps(-rip-), first, chief : 
see j>rince.] I. a. 1. Chief; highest in rank, 
authority, value, or importance ; most considera- 
ble ; main ; first : as, the principal officers of a 
government; the principal points in an argu- 
ment; the principal products of a country. 
It is to large to vse at masse, but they use it in adhorn- 
ynge tile aulter at pryncypall tymes. 
Sir Jt. Guylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 7. 
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. 
Prov. Iv. 7. 
The principal men of the army meeting one evening at 
the tent of Sextus Tarquinius. Shak., Lucrece, Arg. 
Character Is but one, though a principal, source of in- 
terest among several that are employed by the drama and 
the noveL ./. Sully, Sensation and Intuition, p. 238. 
2t. Of or pertaining to a prince; princely. 
He, ... by the great goodwill our Prince bears him, 
may soon obtain the use of his name and credit, which 
hath a principal sway, not only In his own Arcadia, but In 
all these countries of Peloponnesus. 
Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, L 
Center of principal curvature. See center'. Princi- 
pal axis, In conic sections, the axis which passes through 
the two foci; in the parabola, the diameter passing through 
the focus. Principal brace, See in-acei. Principal 
cells, see cell. Principal challenge. See challenge, 
9. Principal Chord, a chord to a surface perpendicu- 
lar to the j>lane through the middle points of all parallel 
chords. Principal Close, in music, same as perfect ca- 
dence (which see, under cadence). Principal end. See 
end. Principal Factory Act. See Factory Acts, under 
factory. Principal focus. See/ocw, l. Principal 
form, function, king-at-arms, part See the nouns. 
- Principal points. See pmnti. Principal post, the 
corner-post of a timber- framed house. Principal prop- 
osition, a self-evident and undemonstrable maxim of 
proof. Principal rafter. See rafler. Principal ray, 
that ray which passes perpendicularly from the spectator's 
eye to the perspective plane or picture. Principal 
screw of inertia. See inertia. Principal section, in 
optics, any plane passing through the optical axisof a crys- 
tal. Principal subject or theme, in music, one of the 
chief subjects of a movement in sonata form, as opposed 
to a subordinate theme. Principal tangent conic. See 
conic. Principal value of a function, the one real 
value. Thus, the logarithm of a real quantity is a real 
quality plus N times an Imaginary quantity, and the 
value given by putting N" = is the principal value. 
The principal axes of inertia, of stress. See oziii. 
= Syn. 1. Leading, great capital, cardinal, supreme. 
H. H. 1. A chief or head; one who takes a 
leading part; one primarily concerned iu an 
action, and not an auxiliary, accessory, assis- 
tant, or agent: as, the principals in a duel. 
Seconds In factions do many times, when the faction 
subdivide!!!, prove principal*. Bacon, Faction. 
It is devised that the Duke of Gloucester as Principal, 
and other Lords that crossed the King's Courses, should 
be invited to a Supper in London, and there be murthered. 
Baker, Cliruuicles, p. 142. 
