princeps

princeps

See also: prínceps

English

Etymology

Latin princeps (“first, foremost”). Doublet of prince.

Noun

princeps

1. One who, or that which, is foremost, original, etc.
2. The editio princeps, or first edition of a book.

Related terms

• principicide

Anagrams

• Crippens

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Dutch

Etymology

From Latin princeps. Doublet of prins.

Noun

princeps m (uncountable)

1. princeps; Roman emperor

Related terms

• principaat
• prins, prinses

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *priisemokaps by syncope. Surface etymology: prīmus (“first”) +‎ -ceps (“catcher”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpriːn.keps/, [ˈpriːŋkɛps̠] or IPA^(key): /ˈprin.keps/, [ˈprɪŋkɛps̠]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈprin.t͡ʃeps/, [ˈprin̠ʲt͡ʃeps]
• Note: the length of the first vowel might have varied, being subject to one or more rounds of Osthoff's Law which shortens vowels before an /n/ in the same syllable. Ancient Greek πρῖγκιψ (prînkips) shows there was a pronunciation with long /ī/, which must have been maintained by analogy with prīmus, but an archaic Italian form prence points to a form in /ĭ/.[1][2] See also Italian prencipe, an alternative form of principe.

Adjective

prī̆nceps (genitive prī̆ncipis); third-declension one-termination adjective

1. first, foremost
2. chief, distinguished

Declension

Third-declension one-termination adjective.

Number	Singular			Plural
Case / Gender	Masc./Fem.	Neuter		Masc./Fem.	Neuter
Nominative	prī̆nceps			prī̆ncipēs	prī̆ncipia
Genitive	prī̆ncipis			prī̆ncipium
Dative	prī̆ncipī			prī̆ncipibus
Accusative	prī̆ncipem	prī̆nceps		prī̆ncipēs	prī̆ncipia
Ablative	prī̆ncipī			prī̆ncipibus
Vocative	prī̆nceps			prī̆ncipēs	prī̆ncipia

Synonyms

• (first): prīmus

Derived terms

• prī̆nceps cīvitātis (“first citizen”) (a title of the Roman Emperors, beginning with Caesar Augustus)

Noun

prī̆nceps m or f (genitive prī̆ncipis); third declension

1. a leader, first man or woman, head

   The official Style of the British sovereign :

   Carolus III, Deī Grātiā Britanniārum Rēgnōrumque Suōrum Cēterōrum Rēx, Cōnsortiōnis Populōrum Prīnceps, Fideī Dēfēnsor

   Charles III, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain <and Northern Ireland> and of His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith

2. a principal person
3. an author, originator, founder
4. a chief, director
5. a prince, sovereign
6. (military, in the plural) company or division of the second line of soldiers

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	prī̆nceps	prī̆ncipēs
Genitive	prī̆ncipis	prī̆ncipum
Dative	prī̆ncipī	prī̆ncipibus
Accusative	prī̆ncipem	prī̆ncipēs
Ablative	prī̆ncipe	prī̆ncipibus
Vocative	prī̆nceps	prī̆ncipēs

Synonyms

• (prince): prīncipissa f

Derived terms

• Prī̆nceps
• prī̆ncipālis
• prī̆ncipātus
• prī̆ncipiō
• prī̆ncipissa
• prī̆ncipium
• prī̆ncipor

 

Descendants

• → Albanian: pringj
• → Ancient Greek: πρῖγκιψ (prînkips)
  • → Greek: πρίγκιπας (prígkipas)
• → Basque: printze
• Catalan: príncep
• French: prince
  • → English: prince, princess
    • → Manx: prinse
    • → Japanese: プリンス (purinsu), プリンセス (purinsesu)
  • → Dutch: prins, prinses
  • → Danish: prins, prinsesse
  • → Swedish: prins, prinsessa
    • → Finnish: prinssi, prinsessa
  • → German: Prinz, Prinzessin
    • → Russian: принц (princ), принцесса (princessa)
    • → Serbo-Croatian: princ
    • → Esperanto: princo
    • → Icelandic: prins
    • → Faroese: prinsur
  • → Irish: prionsa
  • → Luxembourgish: Prënz
  • → Turkish: prens
  • → Romanian: prinț, prințesă
  • → Latvian: princis, princese
• Italian: principe
• Old Occitan: prince
• → Portuguese: príncipe
• Sicilian: prìncipi
• → Spanish: príncipe
  • → Cebuano: prinsipe
  • → Tagalog: prinsipe
• → German: Fürst (calque)
  • → Danish: fyrste
  • → Estonian: vürst
  • → Icelandic: fursti
  • → Latvian: firsts
  • → Swedish: furste
• → Dutch: vorst (calque)
• → English: princeps

References

1. Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, page 78
2. Sayeed, Ollie (01 Jan 2017) "Osthoff’s Law in Latin", in Indo-European Linguistics, Volume 5, Issue 1, page 158

Further reading

• “princeps”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “princeps”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• princeps in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• princeps in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to be considered the foremost orator: primum or principem inter oratores locum obtinere
    
  • to be considered the foremost orator: oratorum principem esse
    
  • to be the chief man in the state: principem civitatis esse
    
  • to hold the first position in the state: principem in re publica locum obtinere
    
  • statesmen: principes rem publicam administrantes or simply principes
    
  • to occupy the first, second position in the state: principem (primum), secundum locum dignitatis obtinere
    
  • the aristocracy (as a leading class in government): principes or primores
    
• “princeps”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• princeps in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• “princeps”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

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Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin princeps.

Adjective

princeps m or f or n (indeclinable)

1. princeps

Declension

Declension of princeps (invariable)

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	princeps		princeps	princeps	princeps
	definite	—		—	—	—
genitive/ dative	indefinite	princeps		princeps	princeps	princeps
	definite	—		—	—	—

Noun

princeps m (uncountable)

1. princeps

Declension

declension of princeps (singular only)

	singular
m gender	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) princeps	princepsul
genitive/dative	(unui) princeps	princepsului
vocative	princepsule