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

“A guiding principle for us was capturing the energy of what it feels like to be a teenager and get really swept up in something.”

From Los Angeles Times

Robert D. Putnam’s 2000 book “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community,” which surveys how Americans have become increasingly disconnected from each other with the decline of social institutions like bowling leagues, had been a big influence in Schur’s crafting of “Parks and Recreation” and Leslie Knope’s guiding principle.

From Los Angeles Times

"We remain committed to a principle of a national care service and are considering all options around how we demonstrate that."

From BBC

Meanwhile, the Waitangi Tribunal, which was set up in 1975 to investigate alleged breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi, notes the bill "purposefully excluded any consultation with Māori, breaching the principle of partnership, the Crown’s good-faith obligations, and the Crown’s duty to actively protect Māori rights and interests".

From BBC

Act leader Seymour - who is also New Zealand's associate justice minister - argues that because the principles have never been properly defined legally, the courts "have been able to develop principles that have been used to justify actions that are contrary to the principle of equal rights".

From BBC

Related Words

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