principal parts

noun

, (used with a plural verb)

1. a set of inflected forms of a form class from which all the other inflected forms can be derived, as sing, sang, sung; smoke, smoked.

principal parts

plural noun

1. grammar the main inflected forms of a verb, from which all other inflections may be deduced. In English they are generally considered to consist of the third person present singular, present participle, past tense, and past participle
2. the sides and interior angles of a triangle

Word History and Origins

Origin of principal parts¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

But your heart really had to go out to Laracey, who after stepping in to principal parts in “Symphony in Three Movements” and “Stravinsky Violin Concerto,” tested positive for the coronavirus and was forced out of “Orpheus,” as well as “Apollo.”

From New York Times

Kouatchou’s Christine is the last of the three principal parts in Broadway’s “Phantom” to break the color barrier.

From Seattle Times

Though the company has no official ranks, Ms. Harkins has performed most of the principal parts: Cinderella, Aurora in “Sleeping Beauty” and Sugarplum in “The Nutcracker.”

From New York Times

In my second year of classes, reading Sophocles’ “Antigone” with Professor Laura Slatkin, I copied the Greek text painstakingly into my notebook, observing every diacritical mark, and covered the facing page with vocabulary notes—verbs with their principal parts, nouns with their genders and genitives.

From The New Yorker

In my second year of classes, reading Sophocles’ “Antigone” with Professor Laura Slatkin, I copied the Greek text painstakingly into my notebook, observing every diacritical mark, and covered the facing page with vocabulary notes—verbs with their principal parts, nouns with their genders and genitives.

From The New Yorker