11 results for: Principle

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

prin·ci·ple

Audio Help [prin-suh-puh

–noun

1.	an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct: a person of good moral principles.

2.	a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from which others are derived: the principles of modern physics.

3.	a fundamental doctrine or tenet; a distinctive ruling opinion: the principles of the Stoics.

4.	principles, a personal or specific basis of conduct or management: to adhere to one's principles; a kindergarten run on modern principles.

5.	guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct: a person of principle.

6.	an adopted rule or method for application in action: a working principle for general use.

7.	a rule or law exemplified in natural phenomena, the construction or operation of a machine, the working of a system, or the like: the principle of capillary attraction.

8.	the method of formation, operation, or procedure exhibited in a given case: a community organized on the patriarchal principle.

9.	a determining characteristic of something; essential quality.

10.	an originating or actuating agency or force: growth is the principle of life.

11.	an actuating agency in the mind or character, as an instinct, faculty, or natural tendency: the principles of human behavior.

12.	Chemistry. a constituent of a substance, esp. one giving to it some distinctive quality or effect.

13.	Obsolete. beginning or commencement.

—Idioms

14.	in principle, in essence or substance; fundamentally: to accept a plan in principle.

15.

on principle,

a.	according to personal rules for right conduct; as a matter of moral principle: He refused on principle to agree to the terms of the treaty.

b.	according to a fixed rule, method, or practice: He drank hot milk every night on principle.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME, alter. of MF principe or L prīncipium, on the analogy of manciple. See principium

]

—Synonyms 1, 2, 3. Principle, canon, rule imply something established as a standard or test, for measuring, regulating, or guiding conduct or practice. A principle is a general and fundamental truth that may be used in deciding conduct or choice: to adhere to principle. Canon, originally referring to an edict of the Church (a meaning that it still retains), is used of any principle, law, or critical standard that is officially approved, particularly in aesthetics and scholarship: canons of literary criticism. A rule, usually something adopted or enacted, is often the specific application of a principle: the golden rule. 2. theorem, axiom, postulate, proposition. 5. integrity, probity, rectitude, honor.

—Usage note See principal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Principle

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

prin·ci·ple Audio Help (prĭn'sə-pəl) Pronunciation Key
n.

A basic truth, law, or assumption: the principles of democracy.
1. A rule or standard, especially of good behavior: a man of principle.
2. The collectivity of moral or ethical standards or judgments: a decision based on principle rather than expediency.
A fixed or predetermined policy or mode of action.
A basic or essential quality or element determining intrinsic nature or characteristic behavior: the principle of self-preservation.
A rule or law concerning the functioning of natural phenomena or mechanical processes: the principle of jet propulsion.
Chemistry One of the elements that compose a substance, especially one that gives some special quality or effect.
A basic source. See Usage Note at principal.

[Middle English, alteration of Old French principe, from Latin prīncipium, from prīnceps, prīncip-, leader, emperor; see per¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
principle

c.1380, "fundamental truth or proposition," from Anglo-Norm. principle, from O.Fr. principe, from L. principium (pl. principia) "a beginning, first part," from princeps (see prince). Meaning "origin, source" is attested from 1413. Sense of "general rule of conduct" is from c.1532. Used absolutely for (good or moral) principle from 1653.

"It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them." [Adlai Stevenson, speech, New York City, Aug. 27, 1952]

Hence principled "moral" (1697). Scientific sense of "general law of nature" is recorded from 1802.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

principle
noun
1.	a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct; "their principles of composition characterized all their works"
2.	a rule or standard especially of good behavior; "a man of principle"; "he will not violate his principles"
3.	a basic truth or law or assumption; "the principles of democracy"
4.	a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system; "the principle of the conservation of mass"; "the principle of jet propulsion"; "the right-hand rule for inductive fields"
5.	rule of personal conduct
6.	(law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature); "the rationale for capital punishment"; "the principles of internal-combustion engines" [syn: rationale]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
principle1 [ˈprinsəpəl] noun

a general truth, rule or law
Example: the principle of gravity

Arabic:	قاعِدَه
Chinese (Simplified):	原则
Chinese (Traditional):	原則
Czech:	princip, zákon
Danish:	princip; læresætning
Dutch:	beginsel
Estonian:	printsiip, seadus
Finnish:	periaate, laki
French:	principe
German:	das Gesetz
Greek:	αρχή, νόμος
Hungarian:	(alap)elv
Icelandic:	grundvallaratriði; lögmál
Indonesian:	prinsip
Italian:	principio

Japanese:	原理
Korean:	원리, 법칙
Latvian:	princips; likums
Lithuanian:	dėsnis, principas
Norwegian:	prinsipp, grunnsetning, lov
Polish:	prawo
Portuguese (Brazil):	princípio
Portuguese (Portugal):	princípio
Romanian:	principiu
Russian:	закон
Slovak:	princíp, zákon
Slovenian:	načelo
Spanish:	principio
Swedish:	princip, grundsats, lag
Turkish:	kanun

principle2 [ˈprinsəpəl] noun

the theory by which a machine etc works
Example: the principle of the jet engine

Arabic:	مَبْدأ
Chinese (Simplified):	原理
Chinese (Traditional):	原理
Czech:	princip
Danish:	princip
Dutch:	principe
Estonian:	tegevuspõhimõte
Finnish:	toimintaperiaate
French:	principe
German:	die Grundregel
Greek:	αρχή λειτουργίας
Hungarian:	elv
Icelandic:	lögmál
Indonesian:	prinsip
Italian:	principio

Japanese:	原理
Korean:	(기계 따위가 움직이는) 원리
Latvian:	(uzbūves, darbības) princips
Lithuanian:	principas
Norwegian:	prinsipp
Polish:	zasada działania
Portuguese (Brazil):	princípio
Portuguese (Portugal):	princípio
Romanian:	principiu
Russian:	принцип
Slovak:	princíp
Slovenian:	osnova
Spanish:	principio
Swedish:	princip
Turkish:	prensip

See also: principles, in principle, on principle

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

prin·ci·ple (prns-pl)
n.

A basic truth, law, or assumption.
A rule or law concerning the functioning of natural phenomena or mechanical processes.
One of the elements composing a chemical compound, especially one that gives some special quality or effect.
The essential ingredient in a drug.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: prin·ci·ple
Pronunciation: 'prin(t)-s&-p&l
Function: noun
1 : a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption
2 : an ingredient (as a chemical) that exhibits or imparts a characteristic quality <the active principle of a drug>