Etymology: < Anglo-Norman princess, princes and Middle French, French princesse (in mythology) one of the leading warriors of the Amazons (c1175 in Old French), a woman who or thing which surpasses all others in a given class or sphere (early 14th cent. or earlier, with reference to the Church), wife or daughter of a prince (1320), the Virgin Mary (second half of the 14th cent. or earlier), female sovereign or ruler (c1405), as an affectionate address to a woman or girl (mid 16th cent. or earlier) < prince prince n. + -esse -ess suffix¹. Compare post-classical Latin princissa (1321, 1463 in British sources), Old Occitan princessa (1265 in figurative use, c1300 or earlier denoting a female member of a royal family), Catalan princesa (mid 15th cent.; end of the 13th cent. or earlier as †princessa), Spanish princesa (end of the 13th cent.), Portuguese princesa (15th cent.), and also post-classical Latin principissa queen, duchess (10th cent.), princess (14th cent.; 15th cent. in British sources), Catalan †principessa (early 14th cent. or earlier), Spanish principesa (15th cent.; now rare), Italian principessa (a1294).The French word was also borrowed into other Germanic languages; compare Middle Dutch princesse (Dutch prinses ), early modern German princesse (15th cent.; German †Prinzess , †Prinzesse ; now Prinzessin (17th cent. as †Princessin ), with secondary feminine suffix). In princess of the blood (royal) at sense A. 1 after prince of the blood (royal) at prince n. 7; compare French princesse du sang (early 17th cent. or earlier). With Princess Royal at sense A. 1 compare later prince royal n. 1, and French princesse royale (second half of the 17th cent. or earlier). With Princess Regent n. at sense A. 4 compare Prince Regent n. With sense A. 5c perhaps compare French faire la princesse (of a woman) to be overbearing and excessively demanding (lit. ‘to play the princess’; end of the 18th cent.). With sense A. 6 compare countess n. 2, duchess n. 3a, lady n. 14, marchioness n. 3, queen n. 11d. With use as adjective compare French princesse (1874 or earlier in this sense, in robe princesse princess dress); the garment is apparently so named on account of its elegance. The pronunciation /ˈprɪnsɛs/ (with stress on the first syllable but /ɛ/ in the second syllable) perhaps arose in order to avoid homophony with prince's and princes. The pronunciation of the plural of the word, ‘and even of the singular’, with stress on the second syllable was noted by Walker (ed. 3, 1802) as a ‘glaring absurdity which prevails even in the first circles’. As editions of D. Jones, Eng. Pronouncing Dict. from ed. 1 (1917) onwards record, British English speakers who normally stress the second syllable still use a pronunciation with stress on the first syllable when the word is in attributive position. The Older Scots forms in pren- result from early lowering of short i to short e.

Etymology: < princess n., probably after French princesse (adjective) denoting a manner of preparation of dishes (1735 in culinary use).