principal /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/adjective 3noun 15forms 3 adjective3 •main, or more important than any of the othersSmith is the principal architect of this design.The principal cause of the failure was poor planning. •Chosen or assumed among a branch of possible values of a multi-valued function so that the function is single-valued.Two is the principal square root of 4. Both −2 and +2 are square roots of 4. •(no longer used) Of or relating to a prince; princely.But walkt at will, and wandred to and fro, / In the pride of his freedome principall. — 1590 noun15 •(US, Australia) The chief administrator of a school.The important administrative figure to the teacher is the school principal. — 1971 •(UK, Canada) The chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college. •The money originally invested or loaned, on which basis interest and returns are calculated.A portion of your mortgage payment goes to reduce the principal, and the rest covers interest. •A legal person that authorizes another (the agent) to act on their behalf; or on whose behalf an agent or gestor in a negotiorum gestio acts.When an attorney represents a client, the client is the principal who permits the attorney, the client′s agent, to act on the client′s behalf.My principal sells metal shims. •The primary participant in a crime.The accessories may be prosecuted, tried and punished, though the principal has not been prosecuted or has been acquitted. — 1915 •Either party in a duel.The old man raised his arm as though it had been palsied, and fired, of course without effect. The other principal immediately deloped, much to the satisfaction of my friend and all present. — 1868 •A partner or owner of a business. •A dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. •A main character or lead actor. •A security principal. •A type of stop on a pipe organ consisting of flue pipes with a bright tonal quality. They are also sometimes referred to as a diapason. •The construction that gives shape and strength to a roof, generally a truss of timber or iron; or, loosely, the most important member of a piece of framing. •The first two long feathers of a hawk's wing. •One of the turrets or pinnacles of waxwork and tapers with which the posts and centre of a funeral hearse were formerly crowned •(no longer used) An essential point or rule; a principle.Set two classes of monitors to question each other; so that one may try to outquestion the other. Explain to them the principal of every subject they have to teach. — 1847 formsprincipals · more principal · most principal
