prince English · revision 3892

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la prīmus, la capiō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /prɪns/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fro|prince|t=prince, noble lord]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|prīnceps|t=first person, chief, ruler]] (genitive prīncipis),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the noun use of an adjective meaning “that takes first”,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|prīmus|t=first]] and -ceps, from the root of [[m|la|capere|t=to take]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*kap-|t=to grasp]].^(Etymonline) German Fürst, from Old High German furist “first”, seems to imitate the Latin formation.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[principal]], [[principle]] and [[prime]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A ruler, chief, leader or great man: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'', with a surname from 1166, according to Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline dates it to about 1200, as a governor, magistrate or leader.^(Etymonline) The OED dates a sovereign ruler, a monarch, to before 1225.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A prince was first the ruler of a smaller state, as in [[Prince of Wales]], the title given since Edward III to the eldest son of the English sovereign;^(Cresswell 2021) the heir apparent sense is from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) A king's son is from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) From about 1600 it became a courtesy title for members of royal families who do not reign;^(Etymonline) under James I it was applied to all the sovereign's sons, and under Victoria also to grandsons.^(Cresswell 2021) By the mid-14th century a prince was the type of a handsome, worthy or proud man,^(Etymonline) and the colloquial “admirable or generous person” is American from 1911.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The Prince Regent was George, Prince of Wales, during George III's illness, 1811–20.^(Etymonline) Prince Charming first appeared as Le roi Charmant in the French fairy tale ''The Blue Bird'' (1698), and in English in a play of 1851.^(Cresswell 2021) [[princess]] is from about 1370, in Chaucer.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1166 – the surname Prince.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – a ruler, leader.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – heir apparent.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1370 – ''princess''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-15th century – a king's son.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – a courtesy title.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1811–20 – the Prince Regent.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1911 – a generous person.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A male member of a royal family other than the [[monarch]], especially a son of the monarch.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The ruler of a [[principality]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A nobleman of varying rank.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # An outstanding man in a group or field: ''a merchant prince''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(informal)'' A generous or admirable man.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[princeship]]

+ * [[princeless]]

+ * [[princekin]]

+ * [[princelet]]

+ * [[princeling]]

+ * [[crown prince]]

+ * [[prince regent]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[princedom]]

+ * [[princely]]

+ * [[princess]]

+ * [[principal]]

+ * [[principality]]

+ * [[principle]]

+ * [[prime]]

+ * [[capture]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Yorkshire quarrymen's speech a ''prince'' was a small wedge.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}