principal

A2 Topic:Education & Learning

US /ˈprɪnsəpəl/ UK /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/ See IPA manual

Homophones

principle /ˈprɪnsəpəl/

Freq #3128

Meanings

1

noun
The person in charge of a school.

Naughty students were sent to the principal's office.
2

adj
Most important; main.

Tourism is the principal source of income for the island.
3

noun
The original amount of money invested or borrowed, before interest is added.

Part of each loan payment reduces the principal and the rest covers interest.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the person in charge of a... head headmaster headmistress headteacher

2 adj · most important; main. chief main primary

Word family

Forms principals

Derived forms coprincipalnonprincipalprincipalismprincipalistprincipalnesssubprincipalunprincipalvice-principal

Related forms prince principality principallyprincipalshipprinciple

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

principal investigator
the researcher responsible for leading a scientific study or project

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English principal, from Old French principal, from Latin prīncipālis.

*keh₂p- Proto-Indo-European principal Middle English prīncipālis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Education & Learning Personal Finance

External links

# principal

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈprɪnsəpəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/
**Frequency rank:** 3128

## Meanings
1. The person in charge of a school.
2. Most important; main.
3. The original amount of money invested or borrowed, before interest is added.

## Examples
- Naughty students were sent to the principal's office.
- Tourism is the principal source of income for the island.
- Part of each loan payment reduces the principal and the rest covers interest.

## Derived Forms
- coprincipal
- nonprincipal
- principalism
- principalist
- principalness
- subprincipal
- unprincipal
- vice-principal

## Related Forms
- prince
- principality
- principally
- principalship
- principle

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *keh₂p-
- Root: principal
- Root: prīncipālis

## Etymology
From Middle English principal, from Old French principal, from Latin prīncipālis.

## AI Etymology
Principal comes from Middle English principal, from Old French principal, from Latin prīncipālis. The historical chain includes *keh₂p- (Proto-Indo-European), principal (Middle English), principal (Old French), prīncipālis (Latin). In present-day English it covers the person in charge of a school, most important; main, and the original amount of money invested or borrowed, before interest is added. The wider family includes derived forms such as coprincipal, nonprincipal, principalism, principalist, principalness and related forms such as prince, principality, principally, principalship.

## Topics
- Education & Learning
- Personal Finance

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