prince

¹

[prins]

noun

1. a nonreigning male member of a royal family.

2. History/Historical.,  a sovereign or monarch; king.

3. (in Great Britain) a son or grandson (if the child of a son) of a king or queen.

4. the English equivalent of any of various titles of nobility in other countries.

5. a holder of such a title.

6. the ruler of a small state, as one actually or nominally subordinate to a suzerain.

   Monaco is ruled by a prince.

7. a person or thing that is chief or preeminent in any class, group, etc..

   a merchant prince.

8. a person possessing admirably fine and genial characteristics.

   He is a prince of a man.

Prince

²

[prins]

noun

1. Harold S(mith) Hal, 1928–2019, U.S. stage director and producer.

2. Prince Rogers Nelson, 1958–2016, U.S. singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

3. a male given name.

prince

¹

/ prɪns /

noun

1. (in Britain) a son of the sovereign or of one of the sovereign's sons

2. a nonreigning male member of a sovereign family

3. the monarch of a small territory, such as Monaco, usually called a principality, that was at some time subordinate to an emperor or king

4. any sovereign; monarch

5. a nobleman in various countries, such as Italy and Germany

6. an outstanding member of a specified group

   a merchant prince

7. informal,  a generous and charming man

Prince

²

/ prɪns /

noun

1. full name Prince Rogers Nelson. born 1958, US rock singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. His albums include Dirty Mind (1981), Purple Rain (1984), Parade (1986), and Sign o' the Times (1987)

Other Word Forms

• princeless adjective
• princeship noun
• princelike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prince¹

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French < Latin prīncip- (stem of prīnceps ) first, principal (adj.), principal person, leader (noun), equivalent to prīn- for prīmus prime + -cep- (combining form of capere to take) + -s nominative singular ending

Word History and Origins

Origin of prince¹

C13: via Old French from Latin princeps first man, ruler, chief

Example Sentences

The prince criticised criminals for their involvment in the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest during a speech at the United for Wildlife conference.

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He shared his thoughts in an essay published ahead of Remembrance events, with the prince set to visit military veterans in Canada this week.

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"People here, they are good, good people, you know, honest people", she told the prince, before expressing her love for the Princess of Wales.

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The prince had travelled to the top of the mountain by cable car, to the surprise of several groups of tourists queuing to travel up the mountain.

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Today there’s another man formerly known as prince: It’s Andrew Mountbatten Windsor now.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal