prince

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /pɹɪns/ See IPA manual

Freq #1246

Meanings

1

noun
The son of a king or queen, or a male member of a royal family.

The prince waved to the crowd from the palace balcony.
2

noun
The male ruler of a small country or state.

He is the prince who rules the small country of Monaco.
3

noun
An outstanding or excellent person in their field.

He is a prince among scholars.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms princes

Derived forms archprincecoprincemerprinceprince-bishopprince-primateprincefulprincehoodprincekinprincelessprinceletprincelikeprinceling

Related forms princedom princelyprincepsprincess principal principalityprincipicideprinciple

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.

*keh₂p- Proto-Indo-European prince Middle English prīnceps Latin

View etymology graph ->

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# prince

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /pɹɪns/
**Frequency rank:** 1246

## Meanings
1. The son of a king or queen, or a male member of a royal family.
2. The male ruler of a small country or state.
3. An outstanding or excellent person in their field.

## Examples
- The prince waved to the crowd from the palace balcony.
- He is the prince who rules the small country of Monaco.
- He is a prince among scholars.

## Derived Forms
- archprince
- coprince
- merprince
- prince-bishop
- prince-primate
- princeful
- princehood
- princekin
- princeless
- princelet
- princelike
- princeling

## Related Forms
- princedom
- princely
- princeps
- princess
- principal
- principality
- principicide
- principle

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *keh₂p-
- Root: prince
- Root: prīnceps

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Prince comes 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. In present-day English it covers the son of a king or queen, or a male member of a royal family, the male ruler of a small country or state, and an outstanding or excellent person in their field. The wider family includes derived forms such as archprince, coprince, merprince, prince-bishop, prince-primate and related forms such as princedom, princely, princeps, princess.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Family & Relationships

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prince

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