Prince

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

Prince, n. [F., from L. princeps, -cipis, the first, chief; primus first + capere to take. See Prime, a., and Capacious.].

•  The one of highest rank; one holding the highest place and authority; a sovereign; a monarch; -- originally applied to either sex, but now rarely applied to a female.  Wyclif (Rev. i. 5).  [1913 Webster]

  "Go, Michael, of celestial armies prince."  [1913 Webster]

  "Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her sex."  [1913 Webster]
•  The son of a king or emperor, or the issue of a royal family; as, princes of the blood.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  A title belonging to persons of high rank, differing in different countries. In England it belongs to dukes, marquises, and earls, but is given to members of the royal family only. In Italy a prince is inferior to a duke as a member of a particular order of nobility; in Spain he is always one of the royal family.  [1913 Webster]
•  The chief of any body of men; one at the head of a class or profession; one who is preëminent; as, a merchant prince; a prince of players.  Peacham.  [1913 Webster]

Prince-Albert coat, a long double-breasted frock coat for men. -- Prince of the blood, Prince consort, Prince of darkness. See under Blood, Consort, and Darkness. -- Prince of Wales, the oldest son of the English sovereign. -- Prince's feather (Bot.), a name given to two annual herbs (Amarantus caudatus and Polygonum orientale), with apetalous reddish flowers arranged in long recurved panicled spikes. -- Prince's metal, Prince Rupert's metal. See under Metal. Prince's pine. (Bot.) See Pipsissewa.

Prince, v. i. 

 To play the prince.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Prince, n. (as a title usu. Prince)
1 a male member of a royal family other than a reigning king.
2 (in full prince of the blood) a son or grandson of a British monarch.
3 a ruler of a small State, actually or nominally subject to a king or emperor.
4 (as an English rendering of foreign titles) a noble usu. ranking next below a duke.
5 (as a courtesy title in some connections) a duke, marquis, or earl.
6 (often foll. by of) the chief or greatest (the prince of novelists).

Idiom

Prince Charming an idealized young hero or lover. prince consort
1 the husband of a reigning female sovereign who is himself a prince.
2 the title conferred on him. Prince of Darkness Satan. Prince of Peace Christ. Prince of Wales the heir apparent to the British throne, as a title conferred by the monarch. Prince Regent a prince who acts as regent, esp. George (afterwards IV) as regent 1811-20. prince royal the eldest son of the reigning monarch. prince's feather a tall plant, Amaranthus hypochondriacus, with feathery spikes of small red flowers. prince's metal a brasslike alloy of copper and zinc.

Derivative

princedom n. princelet n. princelike adj. princeship n.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. L princeps principis first, chief, sovereign f. primus first + capere take

THESAURUS

Prince

Muslim rulers, Prinz, acceptable person, anointed king, atheling, baron, capital fellow, chief, chieftain, crown prince, crowned head, czar, diamond, dynast, emir, emperor, gem, gentleman, good fellow, good lot, good man, good person, good sort, good woman, grand duke, heir apparent, heir presumptive, high chief, honest man, imperator, jewel, khan, king, king-emperor, kinglet, knez, lady, lord paramount, majesty, mensch, merchant, mirza, monarch, overlord, paramount, pearl, perfect gentleman, perfect lady, persona grata, petty king, potentate, prince consort, prince regent, princeling, princes of India, real man, right sort, rough diamond, royal, royal personage, royalty, ruler, shahzada, sheikh, sherif, sovereign, suzerain, tetrarch, tycoon, worthy

ROGET THESAURUS

Prince

Master

N master, padrone, lord, lord paramount, commander, commandant, captain, chief, chieftain, sirdar, sachem, sheik, head, senior, governor, ruler, dictator, leader, boss, cockarouse, sagamore, werowance, lord of the ascendant, cock of the walk, cock of the roost, gray mare, mistress, potentate, liege, liege lord, suzerain, sovereign, monarch, autocrat, despot, tyrant, oligarch, crowned head, emperor, king, anointed king, majesty, imperator, protector, president, stadholder, judge, ceasar, kaiser, czar, tsar, sultan, soldan, grand Turk, caliph, imaum, shah, padishah, sophi, mogul, great mogul, khan, lama, tycoon, mikado, tenno, inca, cazique, voivode, landamman, seyyid, Abuna, cacique, czarowitz, grand seignior, prince, duke, archduke, doge, elector, seignior, marland, margrave, rajah, emir, wali, sheik nizam, nawab, empress, queen, sultana, czarina, princess, infanta, duchess, margravine, czarevna, czarita, maharani, rani, rectrix, regent, viceroy, exarch, palatine, khedive, hospodar, beglerbeg, three-tailed bashaw, pasha, bashaw, bey, beg, dey, scherif, tetrarch, satrap, mandarin, subahdar, nabob, maharajah, burgrave, laird, collector, commissioner, deputy commissioner, woon, the authorities, the powers that be, the government, staff, etat major, aga, official, man in office, person in authority, sircar, sirkar, Sublime Porte, marshal, field marshal, marechal, general, generalissimo, commander in chief, seraskier, hetman, lieutenant general, major general, colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, captain, centurion, skipper, lieutenant, first lieutenant, second lieutenant, sublieutenant, officer, staff officer, aide-de-camp, brigadier, brigade major, adjutant, jemidar, ensign, cornet, cadet, subaltern, noncommissioned officer, warrant officer, sergeant, sergeant major, color sergeant, corporal, corporal major, lance corporal, acting corporal, drum major, captain general, dizdar, knight marshal, naik, pendragon, mayor, mayoralty, prefect, chancellor, archon, provost, magistrate, syndic, alcalde, alcaid, burgomaster, corregidor, seneschal, alderman, councilman, committeeman, councilwoman, warden, constable, portreeve, lord mayor, officer, dewan, fonctionnaire, admiral, admiralty, rear admiral, vice admiral, port admiral, commodore, captain, commander, lieutenant, ensign, skipper, mate, master, officer of the day, OD, navarch, da locum melioribus, der Furst ist der erste Diener seines Staats, the prince is the first servant of his state, lord of thy presence and no land beside.

Nobility

N nobility, rank, condition, distinction, optimacy, blood, pur sang, birth, high descent, order, quality, gentility, blue blood of Castile, ancien regime, high life, haute monde, upper classes, upper ten thousand, the four hundred, elite, aristocracy, great folks, fashionable world, peer, peerage, house of lords, house of peers, lords, lords temporal and spiritual, noblesse, noble, nobleman, lord, lordling, grandee, magnifico, hidalgo, daimio, daimyo, samurai, shizoku, don, donship, aristocrat, swell, three- tailed bashaw, gentleman, squire, squireen, patrician, laureate, gentry, gentlefolk, squirarchy, better sort magnates, primates, optimates, pantisocracy, king, atheling, prince, duke, marquis, marquisate, earl, viscount, baron, thane, banneret, baronet, baronetcy, knight, knighthood, count, armiger, laird, signior, seignior, esquire, boyar, margrave, vavasour, emir, ameer, scherif, sharif, effendi, wali, sahib, chevalier, maharaja, nawab, palsgrave, pasha, rajah, waldgrave, princess, begum, duchess, marchioness, countess, lady, dame, memsahib, Do$a, maharani, rani, personage of distinction, man of distinction, personage of rank, man of rank, personage of mark, man of mark, notables, notabilities, celebrity, bigwig, magnate, great man, star, superstar, big bug, big gun, great gun, gilded rooster, magni nominis umbra, every inch a king, noble, exalted, of rank, princely, titled, patrician, aristocratic, high-, well-born, of gentle blood, genteel, comme il faut, gentlemanlike, courtly, highly respectable, in high quarters, Adel sitzt im Gemuthe nicht im Gebluete, adelig und edel sind zweierlei, noblesse oblige.

Good Man

N good man, honest man, worthy, good woman, perfect lady, Madonna, model, paragon, good example, hero, heroine, demigod, seraph, angel, innocent, saint, benefactor, philanthropist, Aristides, noble liver, pattern, brick, trump, gem, jewel, good fellow, prince, diamond in the rough, rough diamond, ugly duckling, salt of the earth, one in ten thousand, one in a million, a gentleman and a scholar, pillar of society, pillar of the community, a man among men, si sic omnes!.