principale Italian · revision 38538

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1292, Bono Giamboni|origins=la princeps}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /prin.t͡ʃiˈpa.le/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''principale''' ''m or f'' by sense (plural principali, superlative principalissimo, adverb principalmente)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|principālis|t=first, chief]], a learned word, from [[m|la|prīnceps|t=first; chief]], the source of [[principe]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) In Late Latin “principālis” was also a noun, the head of a body of officials.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(GDLI) The same word is [[fr|principal]] and [[es|principal]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==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”;^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010) GRADIT and Nocentini date the word to the mid-13th century, and Zingarelli gives 1065, probably for a Latin text.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Zingarelli 2010) Old forms include ''prencipale'' and ''princepale''.^(GDLI)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old Italian used ''principale'' for the chief person of a group, and in law for the principal debtor as against a guarantor;^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3082) ''principalmente'' “above all” appears in Giordano da Pisa (1303–1306).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|3082) 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).^(DELI 1999) Manzoni uses ''i principali'' for the leading men of a town.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ 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.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Mid-13th century – ''Principale'' is first recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)

+ * Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for “first in importance”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1303–1306 – Giordano da Pisa has ''principalmente''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1446 – Pandolfini uses ''principale'' for an employer.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|main]], [[m|en|principal]]: most important, first in value: ''Il motivo principale della sua partenza è il lavoro.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of a place, the largest or busiest: ''la piazza principale del paese''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # Of a person, the most prominent or authoritative: ''i principali pittori del Seicento''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ # ''(grammar)'' ''Proposizione principale'': the [[m|en|main clause]].^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(colloquial)'' The [[m|en|boss]], the employer in a shop or office: ''Devo chiedere al principale se posso uscire prima.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # ''(literary)'' A person of great authority, ''(obsolete)'' a military commander.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The main thing: ''Il principale è non perdere la calma.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(music)'' The principal stop of the organ.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[principalmente]]

+ * [[principalità]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[principe]]

+ * [[la|principalis]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ As a noun for the employer the masculine ''il principale'' is also used of a woman.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}