Etymologically
Log in

principal

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:22. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pʁɛ̃.si.pal/[1]

Forms

principal (feminine principale, masculine plural principaux, feminine plural principales)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prīncipālis (“original; chief, foremost; of the emperor”), from prīnceps (“first; chief; emperor”) (see prince).[2][3][4][5][6] Old French also had a form principel.[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) a Saracen strikes Naimes en l'elme principal, where it seems to mean “princely”; the TLFi notes that editors do not agree.[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

If that is its sense, it was an isolated one: from Philippe de Thaon (1119) it means “most important, foremost”, of things, and of persons from about 1175.[3][2] As a noun it meant an influential person (about 1175) and a military leader (about 1210); principal de collège, the head of a school, is in Estienne (1549).[2][3]

In law le principal is the main object of a claim (Beaumanoir, 1283) and the capital of a debt as against its interest (1323).[2][3] The grammatical proposition principale dates from the Encyclopédie (1765), and Condillac (1775) uses la principale alone.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – “Princely”, in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • 1119 – “Most important”, in Philippe de Thaon.[2]
  • c. 1175 – An influential person, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[2]
  • 1283 – The main object of a legal action, in Beaumanoir.[2]
  • 1323 – The capital of a debt.[2]
  • 1549 – Principal de collège.[2][5]
  • 1765 – Proposition principale.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Main, chief, principal: la raison principale, le rôle principal.[8][9]
  2. Résidence principale: one's main home, as opposed to a second home.[9][8]
  3. (grammar) Proposition principale: the main clause.[8][10]

Noun

  1. Le principal: the main thing: le principal est que tout se passe bien.[11]
  2. The head of a collège (a lower secondary school).[11][1]
  3. (finance, law) The capital of a debt, as opposed to the interest.[11][1]
  4. The head clerk of a notary's or solicitor's office.[11][10]
  5. (grammar) La principale: the main clause.[8][10]

Word family

  • principalement
  • principalat

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 391a
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)