principle

[ prin-suh-puhl ]

noun

1. an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct:

   a person of good moral principles.

2. a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from which others are derived:

   the principles of modern physics.

   Synonyms: proposition, postulate, axiom, theorem

3. a fundamental doctrine or tenet; a distinctive ruling opinion:

   the principles of the Stoics.

4. principles, a personal or specific basis of conduct or management:

   to adhere to one's principles; a kindergarten run on modern principles.

5. guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct:

   a person of principle.

   Synonyms: honor, rectitude, probity, integrity

6. an adopted rule or method for application in action:

   a working principle for general use.

7. a rule or law exemplified in natural phenomena, the construction or operation of a machine, the working of a system, or the like:

   the principle of capillary attraction.

8. the method of formation, operation, or procedure exhibited in a given case:

   a community organized on the patriarchal principle.

9. a determining characteristic of something; essential quality.
10. an originating or actuating agency or force:

    growth is the principle of life.

11. an actuating agency in the mind or character, as an instinct, faculty, or natural tendency:

    the principles of human behavior.

12. Chemistry. a constituent of a substance, especially one giving to it some distinctive quality or effect.
13. Obsolete. beginning or commencement.

Principle

¹

/ ˈprɪnsɪpəl /

noun

1. Christian Science another word for God

principle

²

/ ˈprɪnsɪpəl /

noun

1. a standard or rule of personal conduct

   a man of principle

2. often plural a set of such moral rules

   he has no principles

   he'd stoop to anything

3. adherence to such a moral code; morality

   torn between principle and expediency

   it's not the money but the principle of the thing

4. a fundamental or general truth or law

   first principles

5. the essence of something

   the male principle

6. a source or fundamental cause; origin

   principle of life

7. a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the behaviour of a system

   the principle of the conservation of mass

8. an underlying or guiding theory or belief

   socialist principles

   the hereditary principle

9. chem a constituent of a substance that gives the substance its characteristics and behaviour

   bitter principle

10. in principle
    in theory or essence
11. on principle
    because of or in demonstration of a principle

Usage

Principle and principal are often confused: the principal (not principle ) reason for his departure; the plan was approved in principle (not in principal )

Confusables Note

See principal.

Word History and Origins

Origin of principle¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, alteration of Middle French principe or Latin prīncipium, on the analogy of manciple; principium

Word History and Origins

Origin of principle¹

C14: from Latin principium beginning, basic tenet

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in principle, in essence or substance; fundamentally:

   to accept a plan in principle.

2. on principle,
   1. according to personal rules for right conduct; as a matter of moral principle:

      He refused on principle to agree to the terms of the treaty.

   2. according to a fixed rule, method, or practice:

      He drank hot milk every night on principle.

More idioms and phrases containing principle

see in principle ; on principle .

Synonym Study

Principle, canon, rule imply something established as a standard or test, for measuring, regulating, or guiding conduct or practice. A principle is a general and fundamental truth that may be used in deciding conduct or choice: to adhere to principle. Canon, originally referring to an edict of the Church (a meaning that it still retains), is used of any principle, law, or critical standard that is officially approved, particularly in aesthetics and scholarship: canons of literary criticism. A rule, usually something adopted or enacted, is often the specific application of a principle: the golden rule.

Example Sentences

It also said "some departments appeared to lack central tracking systems" for appointments, and identified two "technical" breaches of the recruitment principles relating to record keeping issues.

From BBC

Most of the country’s homeless policy is organized around the principle called “housing first,” which means allowing people into housing without demanding sobriety, mental health treatment or religious-based treatment.

From Los Angeles Times

Our experience shows that health care costs related to MSK conditions can be significantly reduced — often by double-digit percentages — by following a few basic principles.

From Salon

The bill that has been introduced by the Act political party argues that New Zealand should legally define the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.

From BBC

Specifically, the researchers tested whether their hypothesized mathematical rules were obeyed by the structures in the database, which guided them toward principles that known structures were highly likely to follow.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• assumption
• basis
• convention
• doctrine
• ethic
• foundation
• fundamental
• precept
• proposition
• regulation
• rule
• truth