# princess
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English princesse, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman princesse, Old French princesse. By surface analysis, prince +‎ -ess.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /pɹɪnˈsɛs/, /ˈpɹɪnsɛs/
* (US) IPA: /ˈpɹɪnsɛs/, /ˈpɹɪnsɪs/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: (UK) -ɛs

### Noun

princess (plural princesses)
* A female member of a royal family other than a queen, especially a daughter or granddaughter of a monarch. [from 14th c.]
** 1872, George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin:She did not cry long, however, for she was as brave as could be expected of a princess of her age.
* A woman or girl who excels in a given field or class. [from 14th c.]
** 2014, Blake Masters, Peter Thiel, Zero to One: Notes on Start Ups, or How to Build the Future:Michael Jackson was the king of pop. Britney Spears was the pop princess. Until they weren't.
* (now archaic) A female ruler or monarch; a queen. [from 15th c.]
** 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:And running all with greedie ioyfulnesse / To faire Irena, at her feet did fall, / And her adored with due humblenesse, / As their true Liege and Princesse naturall […]
* The wife of a prince; the female ruler of a principality. [from 15th c.]
    Princess Grace was the Princess of Monaco.
* A young girl; used as a term of endearment. [from 18th c.]
* (derogatory, chiefly US) A young girl or woman (or less commonly a man) who is vain, spoiled, or selfish; a prima donna. [from 20th c.]
** 2020 September 15, Justmaiko, 2:13 from the start, in Trying Viral TikTok Life Hacks. **They Actually Work!!**‎:Jonathan, if you hear this, you're a beautiful princess, but you're also a big, fat dork.
* A tinted crystal marble used in children's games.
* A type of court card in the Tarot pack, coming between the 10 and the prince (Jack).
* A female lemur.
* A Bulgarian open-faced baked sandwich prepared with ground meat.

#### Usage notes

* A princess is usually styled “Her Highness”. A princess in a royal family is “Her Royal Highness”; in an imperial family “Her Imperial Highness”.

#### Coordinate terms

* prince

#### Derived terms

* crown princess
* dollar princess
* passenger princess
* pavement princess
* pearly princess
* people's princess
* pillow princess
* potty princess
* Princess Anne (places)
* princess cake
* princess carry
* princess-consort
* princess consort
* princess cut
* princess dress
* princess-feather
* princesshood
* princessian
* princessification
* princessipality
* princessish
* princessless
* princesslike
* princess line
* princessliness
* princessling
* princessly
* princessness
* princess parts
* princess regent
* princess seam
* princessship
* princess sickness
* princess tree
* princess wand
* princessy
* red princess flower
* unprincesslike
* unprincessly
* unprincessy
* welfare princess

#### Related terms

* princely
* principality

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### See also

* archduchess
* duchess
* grand duchess
* highness
* royal

### Anagrams

* Crespins, crispens