(in Great Britain) a son or grandson (if the child of a son) of a king or queen.
4.
the English equivalent of any of various titles of nobility in other countries.
5.
a holder of such a title.
6.
the ruler of a small state, as one actually or nominally subordinate to a suzerain: Monaco is ruled by a prince.
7.
a person or thing that is chief or preeminent in any class, group, etc.: a merchant prince.
8.
a person possessing admirably fine and genial characteristics: He is a prince of a man.
[Origin: 1175–1225; ME < OF < L prīncip- (s. of prīnceps) first, principal (adj.), principal person, leader (n.), equiv. to prīn- for prīmusprime+ -cep- (comb. form of capere to take) + -s nom. sing. ending]
PrinceAudio Help (prĭns) Pronunciation Key
American stage director, producer, and writer whose productions include Damn Yankees (1955) and Fiorello! (1959), for which he won a Pulitzer Prize.
c.1225, from O.Fr. prince (12c.), from L. princeps (gen. principis) "first, chief, prince," lit. "that takes first" (adj.), from primus "first" (see prime (adj.)) + root of capere "to take" (see capable). Ger. cognate fürst, from O.H.G. furist "first," is apparently an imitation of the Latin form. Colloquial meaning "admirable or generous person" is from 1911, Amer.Eng.
Prince Frederick, MD (CDP, FIPS 63950) Location: 38.54860 N, 76.58907 W Population (1990): 1885 (617 housing units) Area: 17.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 20678
Prince George, VA Zip code(s): 23875
Prince Edward County, VA (county, FIPS 147) Location: 37.21831 N, 78.44307 W Population (1990): 17320 (6075 housing units) Area: 913.8 sq km (land), 2.8 sq km (water)
Prince George County, VA (county, FIPS 149) Location: 37.18677 N, 77.22121 W Population (1990): 27394 (8640 housing units) Area: 687.9 sq km (land), 41.3 sq km (water)
Prince George's County, MD (county, FIPS 33) Location: 38.83030 N, 76.84913 W Population (1990): 729268 (270090 housing units) Area: 1259.8 sq km (land), 33.7 sq km (water)
Prince William County, VA (county, FIPS 153) Location: 38.70405 N, 77.47778 W Population (1990): 215686 (74759 housing units) Area: 876.5 sq km (land), 27.5 sq km (water)
Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census, AK (Area, FIPS 201) Location: 55.45404 N, 132.05037 W Population (1990): 6278 (2543 housing units) Area: 18970.4 sq km (land), 13576.6 sq km (water)
Prime\, a. [F., fr. L. primus first, a superl. corresponding to the compar. prior former. See Prior, a., Foremost, Former, and cf. Prim, a., Primary, Prince.]1. First in order of time; original; primeval; primitive; primary. "Prime forests." --Tennyson. She was not the prime cause, but I myself. --Milton. Note: In this sense the word is nearly superseded by primitive, except in the phrase prime cost. 2. First in rank, degree, dignity, authority, or importance; as, prime minister. "Prime virtues." --Dryden. 3. First in excellence; of highest quality; as, prime wheat; a prime quality of cloth. 4. Early; blooming; being in the first stage. [Poetic] His starry helm, unbuckled, showed him prime In manhood where youth ended. --Milton. 5. Lecherous; lustful; lewd. [Obs.] --Shak. 6. Marked or distinguished by a mark (') called a prime mark. Prime and ultimate ratio. (Math.). See Ultimate. Prime conductor. (Elec.) See under Conductor. Prime factor (Arith.), a factor which is a prime number. Prime figure (Geom.), a figure which can not be divided into any other figure more simple than itself, as a triangle, a pyramid, etc. Prime meridian (Astron.), the meridian from which longitude is reckoned, as the meridian of Greenwich or Washington. Prime minister, the responsible head of a ministry or executive government; applied particularly to that of England. Prime mover. (Mech.) (a) A natural agency applied by man to the production of power. Especially: Muscular force; the weight and motion of fluids, as water and air; heat obtained by chemical combination, and applied to produce changes in the volume and pressure of steam, air, or other fluids; and electricity, obtained by chemical action, and applied to produce alternation of magnetic force. (b) An engine, or machine, the object of which is to receive and modify force and motion as supplied by some natural source, and apply them to drive other machines; as a water wheel, a water-pressure engine, a steam engine, a hot-air engine, etc. (c) Fig.: The original or the most effective force in any undertaking or work; as, Clarkson was the prime mover in English antislavery agitation. Prime number (Arith.), a number which is exactly divisible by no number except itself or unity, as 5, 7, 11. Prime vertical (Astron.), the vertical circle which passes through the east and west points of the horizon. Prime-vertical dial, a dial in which the shadow is projected on the plane of the prime vertical. Prime-vertical transit instrument, a transit instrument the telescope of which revolves in the plane of the prime vertical, -- used for observing the transit of stars over this circle.
Prince\, n. [F., from L. princeps, -cipis, the first, chief; primus first + capere to take. See Prime, a., and Capacious.]1. The one of highest rank; one holding the highest place and authority; a sovereign; a monarch; -- originally applied to either sex, but now rarely applied to a female. --Wyclif (Rev. i. 5). Go, Michael, of celestial armies prince. --Milton. Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her sex. --Camden. 2. The son of a king or emperor, or the issue of a royal family; as, princes of the blood. --Shak. 3. A title belonging to persons of high rank, differing in different countries. In England it belongs to dukes, marquises, and earls, but is given to members of the royal family only. In Italy a prince is inferior to a duke as a member of a particular order of nobility; in Spain he is always one of the royal family. 4. The chief of any body of men; one at the head of a class or profession; one who is pre["e]minent; as, a merchant prince; a prince of players. "The prince of learning." --Peacham. Prince-Albert coat, a long double-breasted frock coat for men. Prince of the blood, Prince consort, Prince of darkness. See under Blood, Consort, and Darkness. Prince of Wales, the oldest son of the English sovereign. Prince's feather (Bot.), a name given to two annual herbs (Amarantus caudatus and Polygonum orientale), with apetalous reddish flowers arranged in long recurved panicled spikes. Prince's metal, Prince Rupert's metal. See under Metal. Prince's pine. (Bot.) See Pipsissewa.
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