prince

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A (male) ruler, a sovereign; a king, monarch.

   Truely, to see our Princes all alone, sitting at their meat, beleagred round with so many talkers, whisperers, and gazing beholders, unknowne what they are or whence they come, I have often rather pittied than envied them.

2. 2
   noun

   A female monarch.

   Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her sex.

3. 3
   noun

   Someone who is preeminent in their field; a great person.

   He is a prince among men.

4. 4
   noun

   The (male) ruler or head of a principality.

   He is the prince who never grew up – a one-time playboy and son of the Hollywood star Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco.

5. 5
   noun

   A non-royal high title of nobility, especially in France and the Holy Roman Empire.

   Prince Louis de Broglie won the 1929 Nobel Prize in Physics.

6. 6
   verb

   To behave or act like a prince.

   The Roofes of Palaces, and Nature prompts them / In ſimple and lowe things, to Prince it, much / Beyond the tricke of others.

7. 7
   verb

   To transform (someone) into a prince.

   All I could remember is the chorus, and something about pumpkins turning into princesses (???!) and frogs turning into princes. I figured she meant the frog was John before she princed him.

8. 8
   noun

   The title of a prince.

   Having been at the center of an international tragedy, the general public view is that the next generation—Princes William and Harry, and also Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice—have suffered enough and deserve every moment of happiness coming their way, and people are more than willing to help them celebrate their successes.

Etymology

From Middle English prince, from Anglo-Norman prince, from Latin prīnceps (“first head”), from prīmus (“first”) + capiō (“seize, take”). Cognate with Old English fruma (“prince, ruler”). Doublet of princeps and principe. Displaced native Middle English atheling, from Old English æþeling; Middle English kinebarn, from Old English cynebearn; Middle English alder, from Old English ealdor; and Middle English drighten, from Old English dryhten.