principle English · revision 5995

− It is Middle English princiepe, principle, [[bor|xno|principle]], a variant of [[m|fro|principe|t=origin, cause, principle]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) a learned borrowing of [[la|principium|t=beginning, origin, first part]] (plural principia “foundations, elements”),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|la|princeps|t=first, chief]] (genitive principis; see [[prince]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from primus “first” (see [[prime]]) and the root of capere “to take”.^(Etymonline) The English l apparently came by analogy with [[participle]], [[manciple]] and [[principal]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)