Etymograph

English

principle

Principle comes from Middle English principle, from Old French principe, from Latin prīncipium ‘beginning, foundation’, from prīnceps ‘first’ (prīmus + -ceps).

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prīzmokaps1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīnceps2‘first’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīncipium2‘beginning, foundation’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400principe2
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500principle2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1596principle2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin princeps
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English principle
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book V, Canto IX: “Doubting sad end of principle unsound.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*prīzmokapsWiktionary, Latin princepsreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīncepsWiktionary, English principle‘first’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprīncipiumWiktionary, English principle‘beginning, foundation’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400principeWiktionary, English principle
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500principleWiktionary, English principle
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1596principleWiktionary, English principle. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book V, Canto IX: “Doubting sad end of principle unsound.”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with principle, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin prīnceps ‘first’

9 more relatives in the full family tree

No ads, ever.

Become a founding member, $29 onceI have a code

Explore everything descended from *prīzmokaps →

No ads, ever. This is how the app stays alive.

Become a founding member, $29 onceWear this word, $32Support the app

Today it means

noun A fundamental assumption, fundamental law or guiding belief.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “principle”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin princeps. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *prīzmokaps / principle