principio

Forms

principio m (plural principi)^[1] Old forms include Old Italian prencipio and Old Italian prencipo.^[2]

Etymology

It is a learned word: it is borrowed from Latin prīncipium (“beginning, origin; foundation, first matter”).^[3][4][5][1] DEI also names French principe (14th century) beside the Latin.^[6] The Latin noun is formed from prīnceps (“first, foremost”) with the suffix -ium of abstract nouns; the same adjective, in the sense “chief”, gave principe.^[3][1][7] The adjective itself is a compound of prīmus (“first”) and capiō (“to take”).^[1]

The same Latin word is learned in Spanish principio.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini and GRADIT date the word to the first half of the 13th century.^[4][5] GDLI's earliest quotations, with the form prencipio, are from 13th-century love poetry;^[2] Chiaro Davanzati writes that love is God, “senza prencipio fue / e sarà senza fine” (it was without beginning and will be without end).^[2]

Semantic evolution

Dante already used principio for the act of beginning, the first part of a time, and an origin or cause (Convivio, 1304–1308).^[3] In the 14th century it could also mean an author or inventor (Sacchetti), and in philosophy a first cause or first proposition.^[6]

The sense of a basic concept of a doctrine or science is dated by DELI to Cosimo Bartoli (before 1572), and that of a general rule guiding practice to De Luca (1673).^[3] DEI dates the chemical sense, the substance that produces an effect, to 1599 (Ferrante Imperato), and a moral rule or maxim to the 19th century; today this gives principio attivo (active ingredient) and un uomo di principi (a man of principle).^[6][8][9]

Phrases include in principio era il Verbo, the opening of John's Gospel, and è il principio della fine, a saying attributed to Talleyrand.^[10] In the plural, the word once also meant hors d'oeuvres.^[6][11]

Timeline

• First half of the 13th century – Principio is first recorded.^[4][5]
• 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for an origin or cause in the Convivio.^[3]
• 1340 – The verb principiare is recorded.^[3]
• Before 1572 – Cosimo Bartoli uses principio for a basic concept of a science.^[3]
• 1599 – Ferrante Imperato uses it in chemistry.^[6]
• 1673 – De Luca uses it for a general rule.^[3]
• 18th century – The adverb dapprincipio is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Beginning, start: the first moment or stage of a period, action or event.^[5][11] Phrases: al principio, in principio (at first), dal principio (from the start): Al principio del corso eravamo in venti.^[5][11][8]
2. The point where something begins, or the opening part of a work: il principio della pista.^[5][12]
3. An early sign of something that may develop: un principio di febbre.^[5][8]
4. An origin or cause: Quel debito fu il principio di tutti i suoi guai.^[5][8][9]
5. A principle: a basic concept or law of a science, doctrine or discipline: il principio di Archimede.^[5][8] Phrase: in linea di principio (in theory).^[5][12][8]
6. A moral rule or value: una donna di saldi principi.^[8][9] Phrases: per principio (on principle), questione di principio.^[8][9][1]
7. (chemistry, pharmacy) principio attivo: the active ingredient of a medicine or preparation.^[9][1]
8. (law) The first part of an article of a law, before the first subsection.^[13][1]
9. (in the plural, dated) Starters, hors d'oeuvres.^[11][1]

Word family

• principiare
• principiante
• dapprincipio

Related words

• principe
• principale
• Latin prīncipium

Usage notes

The plural is principi, less often principii; it is written princìpi when it must be told apart from prìncipi, the plural of principe.^[11][8] Dapprincipio is the phrase da principio written as one word.^[4][10] An old adjective principio meant “principal” or “former”.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 382
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c d e f Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c d e Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3083
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
9. ^ a b c d e Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
10. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
11. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
14. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 14, 389