| 释义 |
prin·ci·pal
I. \ˈprin(t)səpəl, -səbəl also -inzp- or -in(t)sp-\ adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin principalis first, principal, from princip-, princeps first person, chief + -alis -al — more at prince
1. : most important, consequential, or influential : relegating comparable matters, items, or individuals to secondary rank : controlling, preceding, salient
< his chief friend and principal ally — Anthony Trollope >
< a chicken stew of which the principal ingredient was not chicken but sea cucumber — John Steinbeck >
2. obsolete : of or relating to a prince : princely
3. : of, relating to, or constituting principal or a principal: as
a. : capital
< principal costs >
< invested a principal sum >
b. : being the person chiefly concerned in some legal proceeding
4. : main 6
Synonyms: see chief
II. noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin principalis, from Latin, adjective, principal
1. : a person who has controlling authority or is in a position to act independently : one who has a leading position or takes the lead: as
a. : a chief or head man or woman : one presiding as ruler, leader, superior, or lord
b. : the chief executive officer of various educational institutions
< the principal of our grade school >
< the vice-chancellor of some British universities is known as the principal >
c. : one who employs another to act for him subject to his general control and instruction : the person from whom an agent's responsibility derives
d. : the chief actor or an actual participant in a crime including anyone present and actively abetting or assisting therein as distinguished from an accessory either before or after the fact
e. : the person primarily liable on a legal obligation or the one who will ultimately bear the burden because of a duty to indemnify another as distinguished from one secondarily liable (as an endorser, surety, or guarantor)
f. : one fighting or pledged to fight a duel — compare second
g. : a leading performer (as in a drama, opera, orchestra, or ballet) : a person taking a chief part in a theatrical performance : star
h. : official 1
2. : a matter or thing of primary importance : a main or most important element: as
a.
(1) : a capital sum placed at interest, due as a debt, or used as a fund
(2) : the corpus or main body of an estate, portion, devise, or bequest — distinguished from income
b. : the construction that gives shape and strength to a roof and that is generally one of several trusses of timber or iron; also : the most important member of a piece of framing
c. archaic : a fundamental point : principle
d. : one of the taper-bearing pillars formerly used to decorate a hearse
e. : an original (as of a writing or work of art) from which copies are, may be, or have been made
f. : either of the two outermost primaries of a hawk's wing
g.
(1) : the chief open metallic stop in an English pipe organ that is an octave above the open diapason and consists of a 4-foot stop on the manual, an 8-foot stop on the pedal
(2) usually capitalized : an octave or 4-foot stop — used in combination
< dulciana Principal >
h.
(1) : the chief motif or feature in a work of art
(2) : a fugue subject — compare answer
i. : a trumpet of a kind used prominently in old orchestral music (as of Handel)
III. \|prin(t)sə|päl\ noun
(plural principa·les \ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈpä(ˌ)lās\)
Etymology: Spanish, from Late Latin principalis chief, leading person
: a leading man or one of the first citizens of a Philippine or Latin American community |