princely

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ˈprɪnsli/ UK /ˈprɪnsli/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
befitting a prince; generous or lavish in scale

He sold the painting for a princely sum at the London auction.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · befitting a prince;... regal royal lavish magnificent sumptuous generous noble majestic

Opposites

paltry meager mean stingy

Word family

Derived forms princeliness

Related forms prince princedom principality

Etymology

From prince (from Old French prince, from Latin princeps 'first, chief, leader', from primus 'first' + capere 'to take') + the suffix -ly.

princeps Latin primus Latin capere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

# princely

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈprɪnsli
**IPA (UK):** ˈprɪnsli

## Meanings
1. befitting a prince; generous or lavish in scale

## Examples
- He sold the painting for a princely sum at the London auction.

## Synonyms
- regal
- royal
- lavish
- magnificent
- sumptuous
- generous
- noble
- majestic

## Antonyms
- paltry
- meager
- mean
- stingy

## Derived Forms
- princeliness

## Related Forms
- prince
- princedom
- principality

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: princeps
- Root: primus
- Root: capere

## Etymology
From prince (from Old French prince, from Latin princeps 'first, chief, leader', from primus 'first' + capere 'to take') + the suffix -ly.

## AI Etymology
Princely comes from prince (from Old French prince, from Latin princeps 'first, chief, leader', from primus 'first' + capere 'to take') + the suffix -ly. The suffix is part of the word's derivational shape, marking the final grammatical or semantic role while the base supplies the central meaning. As an adjective, it carries the sense "befitting a prince; generous or lavish in scale", with the older formation still helping explain the modern use. Relevant historical forms include Latin princeps, Latin primus, and Latin capere. Derivative forms include princeliness; related words include prince, princedom, principality.

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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princely

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