prince

noun

ˈprin(t)s How to pronounce prince (audio)
Synonyms of princenext
1
a
: monarch, king
b
: the ruler of a principality or state
2
: a male member of a royal family
especially : a son of the sovereign
3
: a nobleman of varying rank and status
4
: one likened to a prince
especially : a man of high rank or of high standing in his class or profession
princeship
ˈprin(t)s-ˌship How to pronounce prince (audio)
noun

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of prince in a Sentence

a neighborhood in which the city's merchant princes built palaces that shamelessly celebrated their wealth
Recent Examples on the Web The Magic Kingdom's afternoon Festival of Fantasy Parade is a cis-palooza with dancers paired up in hetero couples and many princesses and princes. —Deanne Revel, Parents, 22 May 2024 Visitors can see, for instance, a young Charles III standing in a grand room with his sister, Princess Anne, in a portrait taken for the young prince’s eighth birthday in the 1950s, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Hanan Dervisevic. —Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for prince 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prince.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin princip-, princeps leader, initiator, from primus first + capere to take — more at heave entry 1

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of prince was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing prince

Dictionary Entries Near prince

princ

prince

prince's feather

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Prince.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prince. Accessed 5 Jun. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

prince

noun
ˈprin(t)s How to pronounce prince (audio)
1
: monarch sense 1
2
: a son or grandson of a monarch : a male member of a royal family
3
: a nobleman of very high rank
4
: a person of high standing in his class or profession
Etymology

Middle English prince "ruler, king," from early French prince (same meaning), from Latin princip-, princeps "leader, initiator," literally, "one who takes the first part," from primus "first" and capere "to take" — related to prime

More from Merriam-Webster on prince

Nglish: Translation of prince for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of prince for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about prince

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway

How to Use Accents and Diacritical Marks
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

The Words of the Week - May 31

9 Superb Owl Words

'Gaslighting,' 'Woke,' 'Democracy,' and Other Top Lookups

10 Words for Lesser-Known Games and Sports

Etymologies for Every Day of the Week
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...