Definition of the word principles

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principle

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principle

essential quality; law; moral rule: true to her principles; doctrine: the principle of the matter

Not to be confused with:

principal – main; foremost; the person in charge: the school principal; a capital sum (of money)

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

prin·ci·ple

 (prĭn′sə-pəl)

n.

1. A basic truth, law, or assumption: the principles of democracy.

2.

a. A rule or standard, especially of good behavior: a man of principle.

b. The collectivity of moral or ethical standards or judgments: a decision based on principle rather than expediency.

3. A fixed or predetermined policy or mode of action.

4. A basic or essential quality or element determining intrinsic nature or characteristic behavior: the principle of self-preservation.

5. A rule or law concerning the functioning of natural phenomena or mechanical processes: the principle of jet propulsion.

6. Chemistry One of the elements that compose a substance, especially one that gives some special quality or effect.

7. A basic source. See Usage Note at principal.

Idioms:

in principle

With regard to the basics: an idea that is acceptable in principle.

on principle

According to or because of principle.

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[Middle English, alteration of Old French principe, from Latin prīncipium, from prīnceps, prīncip-, leader, emperor; see per in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

principle

(ˈprɪnsɪpəl)

n

1. a standard or rule of personal conduct: a man of principle.

2. (often plural) a set of such moral rules: he’d stoop to anything; he has no principles.

3. adherence to such a moral code; morality: it’s not the money but the principle of the thing; torn between principle and expediency.

4. a fundamental or general truth or law: first principles.

5. the essence of something: the male principle.

6. a source or fundamental cause; origin: principle of life.

7. (General Physics) a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the behaviour of a system: the principle of the conservation of mass.

8. an underlying or guiding theory or belief: the hereditary principle; socialist principles.

9. (Chemistry) chem a constituent of a substance that gives the substance its characteristics and behaviour: bitter principle.

10. in principle in theory or essence

11. on principle because of or in demonstration of a principle

[C14: from Latin principium beginning, basic tenet]

Usage: Principle and principal are often confused: the principal (not principle) reason for his departure; the plan was approved in principle (not in principal)

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Principle

(ˈprɪnsɪpəl)

n

(Theology) Christian Science another word for God

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

prin•ci•ple

(ˈprɪn sə pəl)

n.

1. an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct.

2. a fundamental law, axiom, or doctrine: the principles of physics.

3. principles, a personal or specific basis of conduct or management: to adhere to one’s principles.

4. a guiding sense of the requirements and obligations of right conduct: a person of principle.

5. a rule or law exemplified in natural phenomena, the operation of a machine, or the like: the principle of capillary attraction.

6. the method of formation, operation, or procedure exhibited in a given instance: a family organized on the patriarchal principle.

7. a determining characteristic of something; essential quality.

8. an originating or actuating agency or force: Growth is the principle of life.

9. Chem. a constituent of a substance, esp. one giving to it some distinctive quality or effect.

Idioms:

1. in principle, in essence; fundamentally.

2. on principle,

a. according to rules for right and moral conduct.

b. according to habit or self-imposed regulations.

[1350–1400; Middle English, alter. of Middle French principe or Latin prīncipium]

usage: See principal.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

principal

– principle

1. ‘principal’

Principal can be an adjective or a noun.

The principal thing or person in a group is the most important one.

His principal interest in life was money.

The principal character in the film was played by John Hurt.

The principal of a school or college is the person in charge of it.

The teacher sent me to the principal’s office.

Lodge was Principal of Birmingham University.

2. ‘principle’

Principle is always a noun. A principle is a general rule that someone’s behaviour or ideas are based on.

She did not eat meat because it was against her principles.

We follow the principle that everyone should be treated equally.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	principle — a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct; «their principles of composition characterized all their works» rule generalisation, generality, generalization — an idea or conclusion having general application; «he spoke in broad generalities» pillar — a fundamental principle or practice; «science eroded the pillars of superstition» yang — the bright positive masculine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology; «yin and yang together produce everything that comes into existence» yin — the dark negative feminine principle in Chinese dualistic cosmology; «the interaction of yin and yang maintains the harmony of the universe» feng shui — rules in Chinese philosophy that govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to patterns of yin and yang and the flow of energy (qi); the favorable or unfavorable effects are taken into consideration in designing and siting buildings and graves and furniture
	2.	principle — a rule or standard especially of good behavior; «a man of principle»; «he will not violate his principles» value — an ideal accepted by some individual or group; «he has old-fashioned values» accounting principle, accounting standard — a principle that governs current accounting practice and that is used as a reference to determine the appropriate treatment of complex transactions knightliness, chivalry — the medieval principles governing knighthood and knightly conduct ethic, moral principle, value orientation, value-system — the principles of right and wrong that are accepted by an individual or a social group; «the Puritan ethic»; «a person with old-fashioned values» Hellenism — the principles and ideals associated with classical Greek civilization judicial doctrine, judicial principle, legal principle — (law) a principle underlying the formulation of jurisprudence scruple — an ethical or moral principle that inhibits action
	3.	principle — a basic truth or law or assumption; «the principles of democracy» natural law, law — a rule or body of rules of conduct inherent in human nature and essential to or binding upon human society dictate — a guiding principle; «the dictates of reason» basic principle, fundamental principle, fundamentals, basics, bedrock — principles from which other truths can be derived; «first you must learn the fundamentals»; «let’s get down to basics» logic — the principles that guide reasoning within a given field or situation; «economic logic requires it»; «by the logic of war» pleasure principle, pleasure-pain principle, pleasure-unpleasure principle — (psychoanalysis) the governing principle of the id; the principle that an infant seeks gratification and fails to distinguish fantasy from reality reality principle — (psychoanalysis) the governing principle of the ego; the principle that as a child grows it becomes aware of the real environment and the need to accommodate to it insurrectionism — the principle of revolt against constituted authority conservation — (physics) the maintenance of a certain quantities unchanged during chemical reactions or physical transformations Tao — the ultimate principle of the universe
	4.	principle — a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the function of a complex system; «the principle of the conservation of mass»; «the principle of jet propulsion»; «the right-hand rule for inductive fields» rule law of nature, law — a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature; «the laws of thermodynamics» Gestalt law of organization, Gestalt principle of organization — a principle of Gestalt psychology that identifies factors leading to particular forms of perceptual organization Le Chatelier principle, Le Chatelier-Braun principle, Le Chatelier’s law, Le Chatelier’s principle — the principle that if any change is imposed on a system that is in equilibrium then the system tends to adjust to a new equilibrium counteracting the change Gresham’s Law — (economics) the principle that when two kinds of money having the same denominational value are in circulation the intrinsically more valuable money will be hoarded and the money of lower intrinsic value will circulate more freely until the intrinsically more valuable money is driven out of circulation; bad money drives out good; credited to Sir Thomas Gresham mass-energy equivalence — (physics) the principle that a measured quantity of mass is equivalent (according to relativity theory) to a measured quantity of energy Naegele’s rule — rule for calculating an expected delivery date; subtract three months from the first day of the last menstrual period and add seven days to that date law of parsimony, Occam’s Razor, Ockham’s Razor, principle of parsimony — the principle that entities should not be multiplied needlessly; the simplest of two competing theories is to be preferred principle of equivalence — (physics) the principle that an observer has no way of distinguishing whether his laboratory is in a uniform gravitational field or is in an accelerated frame of reference principle of liquid displacement — (hydrostatics) the volume of a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the volume of the displaced fluid Huygens’ principle of superposition, principle of superposition — the displacement of any point due to the superposition of wave systems is equal to the sum of the displacements of the individual waves at that point; «the principle of superposition is the basis of the wave theory of light» principle of superposition, superposition principle, superposition — (geology) the principle that in a series of stratified sedimentary rocks the lowest stratum is the oldest mass action, mass-action principle — (neurology) the principle that the cortex of the brain operates as a coordinated system with large masses of neural tissue involved in all complex functioning localisation, localisation of function, localisation principle, localization of function, localization principle, localization — (physiology) the principle that specific functions have relatively circumscribed locations in some particular part or organ of the body
	5.	principle — rule of personal conduct precept prescript, rule — prescribed guide for conduct or action higher law — a principle that takes precedent over the laws of society moral principle — the principle that conduct should be moral hypothetical imperative — a principle stating the action required to attain a desired goal ethical code, ethic — a system of principles governing morality and acceptable conduct caveat emptor — a commercial principle that without a warranty the buyer takes upon himself the risk of quality
	6.	principle — (law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature); «the rationale for capital punishment»; «the principles of internal-combustion engines» rationale explanation — thought that makes something comprehensible dialectics — a rationale for dialectical materialism based on change through the conflict of opposing forces law, jurisprudence — the collection of rules imposed by authority; «civilization presupposes respect for the law»; «the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order»

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

principle

noun

1. morals, standards, ideals, honour, virtue, ethics, integrity, conscience, morality, decency, scruples, probity, rectitude, moral standards, sense of duty, moral law, sense of honour, uprightness He would never compromise his principles. They had great trust in him as a man of principle.

2. belief, rule, standard, attitude, code, notion, criterion, ethic, doctrine, canon, creed, maxim, dogma, tenet, dictum, credo, axiom a violation of the basic principles of Marxism

3. rule, idea, law, theory, basis, truth, concept, formula, fundamental, assumption, essence, proposition, verity, golden rule, precept the principles of quantum theory

in principle

5. in theory, ideally, on paper, theoretically, in an ideal world, en principe (French) In principle, it should be possible.

Quotations
«It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them» [Alfred Adler]

Usage: Principle and principal are often confused: the principal (not principle) reason for his departure; the plan was approved in principle (not principal).

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

principle

noun

1. A broad and basic rule or truth:

2. Moral or ethical strength:

The American Heritage® Roget’s Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

principzákonzásada

principlæresætning

põhimõte

periaateperusoletusperusteprinsiippitoimintaperiaate

princip

elvalapelv

grundvallaratriîi; lögmállögmál

主義信念原則原理行動指針

원칙

iš principoįsitikinimaiprincipaiprincipas

likumsprincips

princíp

načelnonačelov načelu

princip

หลักปฏิบัติ

nguyên tắc

Collins Spanish Dictionary — Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

principle

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

principle

(ˈprinsəpəl) noun

1. a general truth, rule or law. the principle of gravity.

2. the theory by which a machine etc works. the principle of the jet engine.

ˈprinciples noun plural

one’s own personal rules or standards of behaviour. It is against my principles to borrow money.

in principle

in general, as opposed to in detail.

on principle

because of one’s principles. I never borrow money, on principle.

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high moral principles (not principals).

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

principle

→ مَبْدَأ princip princip Prinzip αρχή principio periaate principe princip principio 主義 원칙 principe prinsipp zasada princípio принцип princip หลักปฏิบัติ ilke nguyên tắc 原则

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

prin·ci·ple

n. principio.

ingrediente esencial de un compuesto químico;

regla; orden.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

principle

n principio; pleasure — principio del placer

English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed. The principles of such a system are understood by its users as the essential characteristics of the system, or reflecting system’s designed purpose, and the effective operation or use of which would be impossible if any one of the principles was to be ignored.^[2] A system may be explicitly based on and implemented from a document of principles as was done in IBM’s 360/370 Principles of Operation.

Examples of principles are, entropy in a number of fields, least action in physics, those in descriptive comprehensive and fundamental law: doctrines or assumptions forming normative rules of conduct, separation of church and state in statecraft, the central dogma of molecular biology, fairness in ethics, etc.

In common English, it is a substantive and collective term referring to rule governance, the absence of which, being «unprincipled», is considered a character defect. It may also be used to declare that a reality has diverged from some ideal or norm as when something is said to be true only «in principle» but not in fact.

As law[edit]

As moral law[edit]

A principle represents values that orient and rule the conduct of persons in a particular society. To «act on principle» is to act in accordance with one’s moral ideals.^[4] Principles are absorbed in childhood through a process of socialization. There is a presumption of liberty of individuals that is restrained. Exemplary principles include First, do no harm, the golden rule and the doctrine of the mean.

As a juridic law[edit]

It represents a set of values that inspire the written norms that organize the life of a society submitting to the powers of an authority, generally the State. The law establishes a legal obligation, in a coercive way; it therefore acts as principle conditioning of the action that limits the liberty of the individuals. See, for examples, the territorial principle, homestead principle, and precautionary principle.

As scientific law[edit]

Archimedes principle, relating buoyancy to the weight of displaced water, is an early example of a law in science. Another early one developed by Malthus is the population principle, now called the Malthusian principle.^[5] Freud also wrote on principles, especially the reality principle necessary to keep the id and pleasure principle in check. Biologists use the principle of priority and principle of Binomial nomenclature for precision in naming species. There are many principles observed in physics, notably in cosmology which observes the mediocrity principle, the anthropic principle, the principle of relativity and the cosmological principle. Other well-known principles include the uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics and the pigeonhole principle and superposition principle in mathematics.

As axiom or logical fundament[edit]

Principle of sufficient reason[edit]

The principle states that every event has a rational explanation.^[6] The principle has a variety of expressions, all of which are perhaps best summarized by the following:

For every entity x, if x exists, then there is a sufficient explanation for why x exists.

For every event e, if e occurs, then there is a sufficient explanation for why e occurs.

For every proposition p, if p is true, then there is a sufficient explanation for why p is true.

However, one realizes that in every sentence there is a direct relation between the predicate and the subject. To say that «the Earth is round», corresponds to a direct relation between the subject and the predicate.

Principle of non-contradiction[edit]

According to Aristotle, “It is impossible for the same thing to belong and not to belong at the same time to the same thing and in the same respect.”^[7] For example, it is not possible that in exactly the same moment and place, it rains and does not rain.^[8]

Principle of excluded middle[edit]

The principle of the excluding third or «principium tertium exclusum» is a principle of the traditional logic formulated canonically by Leibniz as: either A is B or A isn’t B. It is read the following way: either P is true, or its denial ¬P is.^[9]
It is also known as «tertium non datur» (‘A third (thing) is not’). Classically it is considered to be one of the most important fundamental principles or laws of thought (along with the principles of identity, non-contradiction and sufficient reason).

See also[edit]

• Axiom
• Corollary
• Deduction
• Law (principle)
• Logical consequence
• Self-Evidence

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• The dictionary definition of principle at Wiktionary
• Actus Essendi and the Habit of the First Principle in Thomas Aquinas (New York: Einsiedler Press, 2019).

Britannica Dictionary definition of PRINCIPLE