princelyadj.
/ˈprɪnsli/, U.S. /ˈprɪnsli/ 1.
a. Of, belonging to, or relating to a prince or princes; held, exercised, or governed by a prince; befitting a prince.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > royalty > [adjective] > princely
princely1425
1425 Rolls of Parl. IV. 268/2 Ye princely nobley of you my said Lord of Gloucestre.
1472–3 Rolls of Parl. VI. 39/2 Youre Pryncely corage is verraily disposed personally to goo, depart, and passe with the same Arme.
c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica ii. 85 The maner emonge the kyngis Egipcyen was for to haue sette in a creste vpon theyr hedis the former parte of a lyon, or of a bulle, or of a dragon, importynge by fygure pryncely domynyon.
a1525 Brevis Cronica in D. Laing Andrew of Wyntoun's Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (1879) III. 329 Constantyne the thride..exonerat him of all princely dignite and tuke the habyt of ane channoun regular.
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 59/1 She said also yt it was not princely to mary hys owne subiect.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. ii. 32 The Prince..is lesse frequent to his Princely exercises then formerly he hath appeared. View more context for this quotation
1650 A. Bradstreet Tenth Muse 184 How many Princely heads on blocks laid down, For nought, but title to a fading Crown?
1757 W. Thompson Poems on Several Occasions 62 High o'er his Head was held a starry Crown, Emblem of Royalty and princely Might.
1774 J. Bryant New Syst. II. 439 The Bull's head was esteemed a princely hieroglyphic.
1845 S. Austin tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Reformation in Germany (ed. 2) II. iii. iv. 119 To destroy the Council of Regency, which Hutten looked upon as the representative of the princely power.
1855 H. H. Wilson Gloss. Judicial & Revenue Terms India 318/1 Mahárání,..the principal wife of a Rájá..: applied also in courtesy to Hindu ladies of rank, although not of princely dignity.
1936 H. A. L. Fisher Europe 127 He had..a nephew..instructed in all the accomplishments then thought to be necessary for the formation of the princely mind.
1995 Guardian 4 Jan. ii. 5/4 The hapless hero has to conquer his..sheer lack of skill in princely pursuits from swordfighting to solving riddles.
b. That is a prince; (also) of princely descent or royal rank.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > royalty > [adjective] > princely > that is a prince
princely1568
1568 ( D. Lindsay Satyre (Bannatyne) l. 1647 in Wks. (1931) II. 400 Ane nobill kaip imperiell..Ffor princely and imperiall fulis.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis i. 3 Too this princelye regent [sc. Æolus] her suit ladie Iuno thus opned.
1602 J. Manningham Diary Oct. (1976) 80 That euer in the Zodiack, our Princely Virgin may assend with assistance of all happie planetes.
1633 A. Munday et al. Stow's Surv. of London (new ed.) 503/1 Edward is dead,..A King, or fragrant Nardus hight, A gracious Princely Peere.
1729 E. Fenton Observ. Waller's Poems in E. Waller Wks. p. xix/2 Her blood is kept pure, by often alliance with great and Princely families.
1769 T. Gray Ode at Installation Duke of Grafton 42 Princely Clare, And Anjou's heroine.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth xi, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 325 The Constable's lodgings received the owner and his princely guest.
1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. v. §3. 321 The sovereign powers enjoyed by the princely churchmen of the Empire.
1907 J. Conrad Secret Agent vii. 194 The great Personage might have been the statue of one of his own princely ancestors.
1997 G. Hosking Russia (1998) ii. i. 53 The kinship appanage principle, under which a member of a princely family could choose for himself under which liege lord to serve.
2. Of persons, characters, attributes, etc.: like a prince, princelike; having the appearance, manner, or qualities of a prince; dignified, stately, noble.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adjective]
higheOE
drightlikeOE
highlyOE
drightfula1225
prouda1275
principalc1385
solemna1387
gentlec1390
high and mighty1400
imperial?c1400
royalc1405
kinglyc1425
sublimatec1425
lordfulc1429
lordlyc1440
assumpt1447
raiseda1450
haught1470
kinglikec1485
lordlike1488
triumphant1494
greatlya1500
princely?a1510
supereminent1531
princelike1532
lofta1547
lofty1548
regal1561
supernal1562
haughty1563
excelse1569
queen-like?1571
majestical1578
erecteda1586
augustious1591
ennobled1592
imperious1592
enthronized1593
august1594
high-born1598
sublimed1602
jovial1604
majestic1606
enthroned1609
starred1615
exalted1623
majestuous1633
reared1638
sublimary1655
majestative1656
kingrik1663
superb1663
grand1673
celse1708
stilted1744
canonized1790
queenly1791
apotheosized1794
princified1857
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > [adjective]
reala1325
rialc1330
principala1382
royalc1405
princely?a1510
monarchical?1573
monarchal?1585
monarchic1604
monarchial1788
majestarian1847
sovereignly1884
?a1510 To City of London (Morgan) in Rev. Eng. Stud. (1937) 13 9 Thy famos mayre, by princely gouernance,..the rewlythe prudently.
1578 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. (new ed.) ii. iii. f. 108v God..furnisheth these with a princely nature whome he appointeth to beare gouernement.
1588 Copy of Let. in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) II. 75 Praising her for her stately person and princely behaviour.
1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 297 This that noble Lady Armenia, (whom we have formerly mentioned, and whose memory cannot bee too much revived) with a princely modesty seconded.
1782 J. Wesley Let. 29 Dec. (1931) VII. 157 The Londoners are a princely people. They are never weary of well doing.
1797 E. Burke Three Mem. French Affairs 147 His conversation is open,..his manners gracious and princely.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake ii. 87 I see him yet, the princely boy!
1850 R. Gordon-Cumming Five Years Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. ix. 188 He was a princely old stag, carrying splendid horns and a beautiful coat of new hair.
1919 P. G. Wodehouse Their Mutual Child i. iv. 43 There was something princely about the careless open-handedness of Kirk's methods.
1997 J. Walsh Forty Martyrs Eng. & Wales 33 His handsome youth was withered by those years of imprisonment, but he was still a princely figure in his ‘wrought velvet gown’.
3. Of things: like that of a prince; suitable for a prince in quality, size, amount, etc.; sumptuous, magnificent, munificent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > splendour > [adjective] > magnificent
lordlylOE
richc1275
prouda1300
noblec1300
gloriousc1315
reala1325
rialc1330
stouta1350
solemnc1386
royalc1400
pompousc1425
statelyc1425
lordlike1488
magnific1490
of state1498
magnificenta1530
pompatic1535
magnificala1538
princely1539
gorgeous?1542
regal1561
superbious?1566
surly1566
splendent1567
heroical1577
superbous1581
sumptuous1594
pompatical1610
pompal1616
fastidious1638
grand1673
splendid1685
grandific1727
grandiose1818
splendiferous1827
splendacious1843
magnolious1863
the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > splendour, magnificence, or pomp > [adjective]
wlonkOE
kine-wurtheOE
reala1325
rialc1330
royalc1400
wlonkfulc1400
statelyc1415
pompousc1425
imperial?1435
pontificalc1440
sumptuous1472
magnific1490
magnificenta1530
statelike1534
pompatic1535
magnificala1538
princely1539
portly1548
regal1561
queen-like?1571
haughty1585
portlike1587
Minerva-like1598
lustrous1605
pompatical1610
pontificial1613
commandinga1616
pompal1616
grand1622
splendid1624
pontifician1629
regifical1656
queenly1791
presidential1804
angeliferous1837
slashing1854
sultanesque1862
pageanted1902
the mind > possession > giving > liberal giving > [adjective]
custyeOE
room-handeda1200
largea1225
free?c1225
plenteousc1350
bounteousc1374
liberalc1384
free-hearteda1398
ungnedea1400
royalc1405
opena1425
plentifula1475
profuse?a1475
ungrighta1475
lavishc1475
almifluent1477
prodigous1477
frank1484
bountiful1508
largifluent?a1525
munificent1565
magnificent1577
largeous1583
munifical1583
magnifical1586
free-handed1592
frolic1593
open-handed1593
magnific?1594
prodigal1595
goodwillya1598
communicativea1602
real1602
prodig1605
unniggard1605
generous1615
open-hearteda1617
large-handeda1628
unniggardly1628
fluent1633
profusive1638
numerous1655
largifical1656
insordid1660
unsparing1667
dispensive1677
expensive1678
wasteful1701
flush1703
unboundeda1704
genteel1741
munific1745
magnifique1751
ungrudginga1774
unstinting1845
brickish1860
flaithulach1876
princely1889
outgiving1896
sharing1922
two-handed1929
1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII c. 5 A goodly sumptuous beautifull and princely manour, decent & convenient for a king.
1555 R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde Pref. sig. ajv Yet gaue he a greate parte of his glory to that princely buyldynge.
a1600 (?c1535) tr. H. Boece Hist. Scotl. (Mar Lodge) f. 264v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Princ(e)ly Vortigerne..rewarding him with princely giftis.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1677 (1955) IV. 118 My Lord..is given to no expensive vise but building & to have all things rich, polite, & Princely.
1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. v. 313 Francis I gave the Grand Master a Royal Reception, accompanied with a Princely Donative.
1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France II. 82 [The palace] presents ideas rather of squat solidity, than of princely magnificence.
1838 G. P. R. James Robber I. ii. 34 The estates are princely.
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 21 Nov. 6/1 I am told in the newspapers that Sir E—— G——'s gift of £250,000 is ‘princely’.
1917 T. S. Eliot Let. 21 Mar. (1988) I. 164 This of course is not a princely salary, but there are good prospects of a rise.
1988 E. Segal Doctors xxxiv. 509 He used what seemed to him a princely advance..as a down payment on an apartment.
2005 Olive July 137/2 The St David's also provides a princely Welsh breakfast, with local pork and leek sausages and laver bread.
Compounds
C1. In compounds with other adjectives, as princely-looking, princely-loyal, princely-proud, etc.
ΚΠ
1593 T. Lodge Complaint of Elstred l. 8, in Phillis A dolefull Queene in semblance and array, Attended by a princely looking lasse.
a1630 D. Hume Gen. Hist. Scotl. (1648) 41 A liberall and bountifull King, willing to honour a princely loyall subject.
1798 H. Brand Huniades i. iv. 31 O more than monarch, princely-minded youth!
1872 Ld. Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 12 Her own true Gareth was too princely-proud To pass thereby.
1985 Times 4 May 11/3 Altogether more princely-looking was Roland Price as Benno, Siegfried's friend.
C2.
princely states n. now chiefly historical the states of India that were ruled by indigenous Indian princes before the Indian Independence Act of 1947; also occasionally in singular.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > a or the state > [noun] > state ruled by native prince in India
native state1784
princely states1932
1932 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 23 May 18/4 All of India, British India and the princely States alike, should be federated.
1935 Times 12 Feb. 7/5 Surely, the right hon. gentleman did not mean that he was going to invite the representatives of the princely states to form a Ministry.
1952 Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of World 835/2 By Jan. 26, 1950, when India became a sovereign republic, all acceding princely states had been brought within the constitutional framework.
1959 Listener 19 Mar. 497/2 The Princely States..have disappeared.
1975 Times 29 Aug. 12/1 The map of India..was redrawn to incorporate the former princely states.
1980 H. R. F. Keating Murder of Maharajah xviii. 225 Here is a simple District Superintendent of Police..invited to a princely state because a murder has been committed.
1992 Hindu 13 Sept. 1/4 The Chief Minister..demanding that the erstwhile princely states of Saraikela and Kharsuan..should be returned to Orissa.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
princelyadv.
/ˈprɪnsli/, U.S. /ˈprɪnsli/ Now rare (in later use chiefly archaic).
In the manner of or befitting a prince; royally.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adverb]
micklelyeOE
worthlyeOE
noblelyc1300
lordlya1398
greatlya1400
kinglyc1425
princely1548
lordlikea1555
princelike1567
majestically1577
kinglike1582
elevatedly1593
great1616
grandly1647
augustly1649
magnificently1660
grand1729
lordfully1836
queenly1840
exaltedly1852
regally1852
nobilmente1899
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > splendour > [adverb] > magnificently
micklelyeOE
proudlya1225
noblyc1300
reallya1375
riallya1387
royallyc1405
rialc1425
stately?a1439
pompously1501
gorgeously1532
magnificly1538
princely1548
magnificentlya1552
magnifically1555
superbiously1569
grandly1647
splendidly1651
magnificously1683
superbly1763
grandiosely1841
splendiferously1841
regally1852
splendaciously1872
1546 A. Kelton Commendacion of Welshmen l. 242 Then to Gaulceltike Full princely lyke His passage dyd he take.]
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxxiiii The kyng..answered to hys wordes so soberly, so grauelye, and so princely, that the Frenchmen their at not a littell mused.
?1573 L. Lloyd Pilgrimage of Princes f. 6 Thou shalt liue princely, thou shalt enjoye pleasures.
1617–18 in D. Macgibbon & T. Ross Castellated & Domest. Archit. Scotl. (1892) V. 549 His majestie..wes maist princelie and honorablie ressavit.
1668 H. More Divine Dialogues ii. 301 Some Vertuous and Beautifull Virgin, royally descended and Princely attired.
1700 C. Hopkins Friendship Improv'd iv. 37 Yet something tells me I was Princely born.
1731 C. Coffey & J. Mottley Devil to Pay i. i. 2 I am invited by Sir John Loverule's Butler, and am to be Princely drunk with Punch at the Hall-Place.
1807 E. S. Barrett Rising Sun I. 104 Georgy did go it till he got (according to the vulgar idiom) princely drunk.
1885 W. D. Howells Rise Silas Lapham I. 169 She would have gone to Rome..and lived princely there for less than it took to live respectably in Boston.
a1909 A. C. Swinburne Queen Yseult i, in Compl. Wks. (1925–7) I. 12 Thou art pure and princely born.
2005 P. Perry Romance of Lifetime xxxi. 172 He was princely dressed in a black suit, and a cream-colored polo sweater.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1425
adv.1548