# prince
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English prince, from Anglo-Norman prince, from Latin prīnceps (“first head”), from prīmus (“first”) +‎ capiō (“seize, take”). Cognate with Old English fruma (“prince, ruler”). Doublet of princeps and principe.
Displaced native Middle English atheling, from Old English æþeling; Middle English kinebarn, from Old English cynebearn; Middle English alder, from Old English ealdor; and Middle English drighten, from Old English dryhten.

### Pronunciation

* enPR: prĭns, IPA: /pɹɪns/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɪns
* Homophone: prints (/pɹɪnts/) (in some accents)

### Noun

prince (plural princes)
* (now archaic or historical) A (male) ruler, a sovereign; a king, monarch. [from 13th c.]
** 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 42, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:Truely, to see our Princes all alone, sitting at their meat, beleagred round with so many talkers, whisperers, and gazing beholders, unknowne what they are or whence they come, I have often rather pittied than envied them.
** 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 600:By his last years Erasmus realized that princes like Henry VIII and François I had deceived him in their elaborate negotiations for universal peace, but his belief in the potential of princely power for good remained undimmed.
** 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate, published 2010, page 411:If Henry does not fully trust him, is it surprising? A prince is alone: in his council chamber, in his bedchamber, and finally in Hell's antechamber, stripped – as Harry Percy said – for Judgment.
* (obsolete) A female monarch.
** 1605, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […], London: […] G[eorge] E[ld] for Simon Waterson, →OCLC:Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her sex.
* Someone who is preeminent in their field; a great person. [from 13th c.]
    He is a prince among men.
* The (male) ruler or head of a principality. [from 14th c.]
** 2011 June 26, Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian:He is the prince who never grew up – a one-time playboy and son of the Hollywood star Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco.
* A male member of a royal family other than the ruler; especially (in the United Kingdom) the son or grandson of the monarch. [from 14th c.]
* A non-royal high title of nobility, especially in France and the Holy Roman Empire.
    Prince Louis de Broglie won the 1929 Nobel Prize in Physics.
** 2011 October 16, Katharine Whitehorn, The Guardian:Conspiracy theories are always enticing: one I was involved with in the 50s was about Mayerling, the 19th-century Austrian scandal involving a prince’s lover who died in dodgy circumstances in a hunting lodge.
* A type of court card used in tarot cards, the equivalent of the jack.
* The mushroom Agaricus augustus.
* Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Rohana.

#### Usage notes

* The female equivalent is princess.
* A prince is usually addressed as "Your Highness". A son of a king is "His Royal Highness"; a son of an emperor is "His Imperial Highness". A sovereign prince may have a style such as "His Serene Highness".

#### Hypernyms

* ruler

#### Coordinate terms

* duke
* emperor
* grand duke
* Highness
* king

#### Derived terms

* black prince
* clown prince
* crown prince
* grand prince
* happy as a prince
* merchant prince
* Nigerian prince
* Nigerian prince scam
* pearly prince
* prince-bishop
* prince bishop
* prince charming
* prince consort
* Prince Edward County
* Prince Frederick
* Prince George
* Prince George County
* Prince George's County
* prince-primate
* prince regent
* Prince Rupert
* Princes End
* Princes Risborough
* Princeville
* Prince William County
* Prince William Sound
* water prince

#### Related terms

* princedom
* princely
* princeps
* princess
* principal
* principality
* principicide
* principle

#### Translations

Adyghe: пщы (pśə)
Afrikaans: prins (af)
Albanian: pringj m
Arabic: أَمِير (ar) m (ʔamīr)
Moroccan Arabic: مير (mir) (old)
Armenian: իշխան (hy) (išxan)
Assamese: কোঁৱৰ (kü̃or)
Asturian: príncipe (ast) m
Azerbaijani: şahzadə, əmir
Bavarian: Fiarst, Fiascht
Belarusian: князь m (knjazʹ), прынц m (prync)
Bengali: রাজকুমার (bn) (rajkumar), রাজপুত্র (bn) (rajputro), শাহজাদা (bn) (śahjada), আমীরজাদা (amirjada)
Breton: priñs (br) m
Bulgarian: княз (bg) m (knjaz), принц (bg) m (princ)
Burmese: မင်းသား (my) (mang:sa:)
Catalan: príncep (ca) m
Chagatai: شهزاده
Chechen: э̄ла (eela)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 亲王 (zh) (qīnwáng) (of higher rank or European); 國王 / 国王 (zh) (guówáng) (of higher rank historically); 郡王 (zh) (jùnwáng) (of lower rank); 王 (zh) (wáng); 王爵 (zh) (wángjué); 王爷 (zh) (huángzǐ) (honorific or colloquial); 王子 (zh) (wángzi) (colloquial)
Cornish: pennsevik m
Czech: kníže (cs) m
Danish: prins (da) c, fyrste c
Dutch: prins (nl)
Egyptian: (jnpw)
Erzya: каназор (kanazor)
Esperanto: princo
Estonian: vürst
Faroese: prinsur m, fúrsti m
Finnish: ruhtinas (fi)
French: prince (fr) m
Galician: príncipe (gl) m
Georgian: პრინცი (ṗrinci), უფლისწული (uplisc̣uli)
German: Fürst (de) m
Greek: πρίγκιπας (el) m (prígkipas), βασιλόπουλο (el) n (vasilópoulo)
Ancient: πρῖγκιψ m (prînkips), βασιλείδης m (basileídēs)
Hebrew: נָסִיךְ (he) m (nasik)
Hindi: शहज़ादा m (śahzādā), राजकुमार (hi) m (rājkumār)
Hungarian: fejedelem (hu), uralkodó (hu)
Icelandic: prins (is) m, fursti m
Indonesian: pangeran (id), putera (id)
Ingush: аьла (äla)
Irish: flaith m, prionsa m
Italian: principe (it)
Japanese: 公 (ja) (こう, kō), (around Germany) 候 (ja) (こう, kō), (around France) 大公 (ja) (たいこう, taikō), 王子 (ja) (おうじ, ōji), 皇子 (ja) (こうし, kōshi)
Kabardian: пщы (kbd) (pśə)
Kapampangan: lakan, datu, pirinsipi
Kazakh: ханзада (xanzada), шаһзада (kk) (şahzada)
Khmer: ព្រះអង្គម្ចាស់ (km) (prĕəh ʼɑng mcah)
Korean: 대공(大公) (ko) (daegong), 대군(大君) (ko) (daegun)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: mîr (ku) m
Kyrgyz: канзаада (ky) (kanzaada), принц (prints)
Lao: ເຈົ້າຊາຍ (chao sāi)
Latin: regulus, prīnceps (la) m
Latvian: princis m
Lithuanian: princas m
Lü: ᦈᧁᦌᦻ (ṫsawsaay)
Luxembourgish: Prënz m
Macedonian: кнез m (knez), принц m (princ)
Malay: putera (ms)
Manchu: ᠠᡤᡝ (age)
Manx: prinse m, flah m
Maori: piriniha
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: ноён (mn) (nojon)
Nahuatl: pilli (nah)
Norman: prînce m
Norwegian:
Bokmål: fyrste (no) m, fyrst (no) (as a title)
Nynorsk: fyrste m, fyrst (as a title)
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: кънѧзь m (kŭnęzĭ), кънѧѕь (kŭnędzĭ)
Glagolitic: ⰽⱏⱀⱔⰸⱐ m (kŭnęzĭ), ⰽⱏⱀⱔⰷⱐ m (kŭnędzĭ)
Old East Slavic: кънѧзь m (kŭnęzĭ), кнѧзь m (knęzĭ)
Old English: æþeling m
Old Occitan: prince m
Ottoman Turkish: امیر (emir), خان (han)
Parthian: 𐫇𐫏𐫘𐫛𐫇𐫍𐫡 (wispuhr)
Parthian: 𐫇𐫏𐫘𐫛𐫇𐫍𐫡 (wispuhr)
Pashto: شاهزاده m (šāhzādá), شازاده m (šāzãdá), اميرزاده m (amirzādá), شاهزوى m (šāhzóy)
Persian:
Dari: شَاهْزَادَه (fa) (šāhzāda) (prince or princess), اَمِیر (fa) (amīr)
Iranian Persian: شاهْزادِه (fa) (šâhzâde) (prince or princess), اَمیر (fa) (amir)
Polish: książę (pl) m, kniaź (pl) m (Russian prince)
Portuguese: príncipe (pt)
Quechua: awki
Romanian: prinț (ro) m
Russian: князь (ru) m (knjazʹ), принц (ru) m (princ)
Samoan: aloalii, purinise
Scottish Gaelic: prionnsa m, flath m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: кра́љевић m, ца̏ревић m, при̏нц m
Roman: králjević m, cȁrević m, prȉnc (sh) m
Slovak: knieža m
Slovene: knez (sl) m
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: wjerch m
Spanish: príncipe (es), conde (es) m
Swahili: mkuu (sw)
Swedish: furste (sv) c
Tagalog: prinsipe, lakan (tl)
Tajik: шоҳзода (tg) (šohzoda), амир (amir)
Tatar: шаһзадә (tt) (şahzadä)
Thai: เจ้าชาย (th) (jâao-chaai), เจ้า (th) (jâao)
Tibetan: རྒྱལ་སྲས (rgyal sras), རྒྱལ་བུ (rgyal bu)
Tongan: pilinisi
Turkish: prens (tr), şehzade (tr)
Turkmen: şazada, knýaz
Ukrainian: князь m (knjazʹ), принц m (prync)
Urdu: شَہْزادَہ m (śahzāda), راج کُمار m (rāj kumār), راجْکُمار m (rājkumār), اَمِیر m (amīr)
Uyghur: شاھزادە (ug) (shahzade)
Uzbek: shahzoda (uz), amir (uz)
Vietnamese: hoàng tử (vi), vương tử (vi)
Volapük: (♂♀) plin (vo), (♂) hiplin
Walloon: prince (wa) m
Welsh: tywysog (cy) m
Yiddish: פּרינץ m (prints) :
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Verb

prince (third-person singular simple present princes, present participle princing, simple past and past participle princed)
* (intransitive, rare, often followed by dummy subject it) To behave or act like a prince.
** 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], page 382, column 1:The Roofes of Palaces, and Nature prompts them / In ſimple and lowe things, to Prince it, much / Beyond the tricke of others.
* (transitive, rare) To transform (someone) into a prince.
** 2005 March 30, abe slaney, “Question re John Lennon's Death”, in rec.music.beatles‎ (Usenet):All I could remember is the chorus, and something about pumpkins turning into princesses (???!) and frogs turning into princes. I figured she meant the frog was John before she princed him.

### References

* “prince, v.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

### Further reading

* Agaricus augustus on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Agaricus sect. Arvenses on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
* Agaricus augustus on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
* “prince”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “prince”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* pincer

## French
### Etymology

Inherited from Middle French prince, from Old French prince, a semi-learned borrowing from Latin prīnceps.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pʁɛ̃s/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

prince m (plural princes)
* prince

#### Derived terms

* bon prince
* prince charmant
* prince des ténèbres
* princesse
* Princeville

#### Descendants

* → Ottoman Turkish: پرَنْس (prens)
** Turkish: prens
* → Persian: پرَنس (perans)

### Further reading

* “prince”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

### Anagrams

* pincer

## Middle French
### Etymology

From Old French prince.

### Pronunciation

* This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

### Noun

prince m (plural princes)
* prince

#### Descendants

* French: prince
** → Ottoman Turkish: پرَنْس (prens)
*** Turkish: prens
** → Persian: پرَنس (perans)

## Old French
### Etymology

Semi-learned borrowing from Latin prīnceps.

### Pronunciation

* (classical) IPA: /ˈpɾint͡sə/
* (late) IPA: /ˈpɾinsə/

### Noun

prince oblique singular, m (oblique plural princes, nominative singular princes, nominative plural prince)
* prince

#### Descendants

* Middle French: prince
** French: prince
*** → Ottoman Turkish: پرَنْس (prens)
**** Turkish: prens
*** → Persian: پرَنس (perans)
* → English: prince
** → Manx: prinse
** → Japanese: プリンス (purinsu)
* → Dutch: prins
* → Danish: prins
* → Swedish: prins
** → Finnish: prinssi
* → Middle High German: prinze
** German: Prinz
*** → Russian: принц (princ)
*** → Serbo-Croatian: princ
*** → Esperanto: princo
*** → Icelandic: prins
*** → Faroese: prinsur
** → Luxembourgish: Prënz
* → Irish: prionsa
* → Romanian: prinț
* → Latvian: princis

## Old Occitan
### Etymology

From Latin prīnceps, possibly a borrowing.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpɾint͡se/

### Noun

prince m (oblique plural princes, nominative singular princes, nominative plural prince)
* prince
** c. 1235, anonymous author, Vida of Jaufre Rudel:Jaufres Rudels de Blaia si fo mout gentils hom, e fo princes de Blaia. Jaufre Rudel of Blaye was a most noble man, and was the Lord of Blaye.(please add an English translation of this quotation)

## Walloon
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pʀɛ̃s/
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

prince m (plural princes, feminine princesse, feminine plural princesses)
* prince