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principale

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Etymology and origin of the Italian word principale

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1292, Bono Giamboni
Borrowed from
Latin principalis
Ultimate origin
Latin princeps
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin principalis
French principal
Italian principale

Pronunciation

  • /prin.t͡ʃiˈpa.le/[1]

Forms

principale m or f by sense (plural principali, superlative principalissimo, adverb principalmente)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin principālis (“first, chief”), a learned word, from prīnceps (“first; chief”), the source of principe.[2][3][4][1] In Late Latin “principālis” was also a noun, the head of a body of officials.[2][5][6] The same word is French principal and Spanish principal.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Bono Giamboni's Vizi e virtù (before 1292), with the sense “first in rank, importance or authority”;[2][4][3][7] GRADIT and Nocentini date the word to the mid-13th century, and Zingarelli gives 1065, probably for a Latin text.[2][4][3][7] Old forms include prencipale and princepale.[6][8]

Semantic evolution

Old Italian used principale for the chief person of a group, and in law for the principal debtor as against a guarantor;[8][2][9] principalmente “above all” appears in Giordano da Pisa (1303–1306).[8][2][9] The noun il principale, the owner of a shop or firm for whom others work, is recorded from Agnolo Pandolfini (before 1446) or Leon Battista Alberti (before 1472).[2] Manzoni uses i principali for the leading men of a town.[4][7]

In grammar proposizione principale, or la principale, is the main clause; in music the principale is the main stop of the organ; and in 18th- and 19th-century stagecraft it was a backcloth painted with part of the scene.[4][7][10]

Timeline

  • Mid-13th century – Principale is first recorded.[3][4]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “first in importance”.[2]
  • 1303–1306 – Giordano da Pisa has principalmente.[2]
  • Before 1446 – Pandolfini uses principale for an employer.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. main, principal: most important, first in value: Il motivo principale della sua partenza è il lavoro.[4][11][5]
  2. Of a place, the largest or busiest: la piazza principale del paese.[4][11][5]
  3. Of a person, the most prominent or authoritative: i principali pittori del Seicento.[4][11]
  4. (grammar) Proposizione principale: the main clause.[7][10][5]

Noun

  1. (colloquial) The boss, the employer in a shop or office: Devo chiedere al principale se posso uscire prima.[4][5][10]
  2. (literary) A person of great authority, (obsolete) a military commander.[4][7]
  3. The main thing: Il principale è non perdere la calma.[4][7][12]
  4. (music) The principal stop of the organ.[7][10]

Word family

  • principalmente
  • principalità

Usage notes

As a noun for the employer the masculine il principale is also used of a woman.[5][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  5. ^ a b c d e f Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  6. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  8. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3082
  10. ^ a b c d e Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  11. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  12. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli

Related etymologies

  • no · also from Latin
  • cosa · also from Latin
  • a · also from Latin
  • mio · also from Latin
  • uno · also from Latin
  • si · also from Latin
  • sapere · also from Latin
  • fare · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Principale.” Etymologically, 21 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/it/principale. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·