principe

Forms

principe m (plural principes)^[1] First written principle (late 12th century).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prīncipium (“beginning; origin, foundation, (plural) first principles, elements”), derived from prīnceps (“first; chief”), the source of prince.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Wiktionary treats the word as inherited from Old French principe.^[1] In Latin the noun was also a military term for the front line of an army.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the end of the 12th century in the Prise d'Orange, written principle, meaning “starting point, beginning”.^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

The temporal sense “beginning” went out of use in the 17th century, except in dès le principe “from the outset” (1803, Chateaubriand).^[3][8] From Old French on, the stress fell on the idea of foundation: the word meant an origin, first cause or source (about 1265, Brunetto Latini) and a motive (late 13th century).^[2][3] Of natural causes it named a material element that goes into a thing's make-up, in physics (1636) and chemistry (1680).^[2][3]

It named the basic notion on which a science rests (about 1245, Henri d'Andeli) and especially a proposition on which reasoning is built: Oresme writes of principes mathématiques in 1370.^[2][3] The plural principes came to mean the elements of a subject (1611, Cotgrave, of an art).^[2][3] Freud's principe de plaisir and principe de réalité appear in 1923.^[3]

Outside science the word meant a rule of action (1351), and in the plural the moral rules a person holds to (1688, La Bruyère); des femmes sans principes is recorded in 1742.^[2][3] The phrases par principe (1755, Montesquieu), de principe (1789, Sieyès) and en principe (1792, Robespierre) show, according to Rey, how much weight moral norms carried for the Enlightenment and the Revolution.^[3]

Timeline

• Late 12th century – Principle “beginning”, in the Prise d'Orange.^[2]
• c. 1245 – The basic notion of a science, in Henri d'Andeli.^[2]
• c. 1265 – “Origin, first cause”, in Brunetto Latini.^[2]
• 1351 – “Rule of conduct”.^[2]
• 1370 – Oresme's principes mathématiques.^[2]
• 1636 – The sense in physics, in Monet.^[2]
• 1688 – Principes “moral rules”, in La Bruyère.^[2]
• 1755 – Par principe, in Montesquieu.^[3]
• 1792 – En principe, in Robespierre.^[3]
• 1803 – Dès le principe, in Chateaubriand.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A first cause, an origin: le principe de la vie.^[8][9]
2. A cause that produces an effect; a constituent element: le principe actif d'un médicament.^[8][9]
3. (logic) A first proposition, laid down and not deduced, pétition de principe, begging the question.^[8][1]
4. A fundamental principle or law of a science: le principe d'Archimède.^[8]
5. (in the plural) The elements, rudiments of a subject.^[8][3]
6. A rule of action based on a value judgement: partir du principe que, to start from the assumption that.^[8][1]
7. (in the plural) Moral rules: avoir des principes.^[8][3]
8. Par principe: as a matter of principle;^[8] de principe: on principle, a priori;^[8] en principe: in theory, normally.^[8][1]
9. (dated) A beginning: dès le principe, from the outset.^[2][9]

Word family

• principiel

Related words

• prince
• principal
• Latin prīncipium

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 f g h i j k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 393a
7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette