Prince

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /pɹɪns/

Definitions

1. A male member of a royal family, typically the son of a king or queen, who may inherit a throne or hold a high rank in the nobility
2. A male offspring of a monarch or royal lineage, often positioned to inherit a throne or occupy a noble status within the aristocracy
3. An individual born into royalty, commonly the son of a reigning sovereign, potentially destined for succession or significant nobility rank

Etymology: Latin "princeps" literally meant "first person" or "chief citizen," built from "primus" ("first") and "capere" ("to take"), so it described someone who had taken the first place. The Roman emperor Augustus famously adopted the title "princeps" to present his rule as that of a leading citizen rather than a king, which is why the word came to carry monarchical associations even though its original sense was one of foremost standing among equals. English inherited the word through Anglo-Norman "prince" and entered Middle English with the meaning of a ruler or sovereign's heir. Old English had its own word for a royal heir, "æþeling," which was eventually displaced by this borrowing. The word "prince" is a doublet of "princeps" and "principe," meaning English, Latin, and Italian forms share the same origin but reached the language by different routes.

Synonyms: monarch, royal, noble, duke, lord

Antonyms: commoner, peasant