The story
- Proto-Indo-European · derived from*preh₂-“before”
- Latin · derived fromprīncipium“beginning, foundation”
- Old French · derived fromprincipe
- Middle English · inherited fromprinciple
- English todayprinciple
From Middle English principle, from Old French principe, from Latin prīncipium (“beginning, foundation”), from prīnceps (“first”). By surface analysis, prīmus (“first”) + -ceps (“catcher”); the former ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- (“before”); see also prince.
Words from the same roots
Proto-Indo-European*preh₂- all →
forfirstparenthesisprescientprecipitantaprimoratepresentative
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.