Princeton

P3R1I1N1C3E1T1O1N1
/ˈpɹɪnstən/

proper noun

A town in southern British Columbia.

CommonScrabble 13

Meanings

proper noun
  1. A place in Canada:
    1. A town in southern British Columbia.
  2. A number of places in the United States:
    1. A minor city and township in Scott County, Iowa.
    2. A borough in Mercer County, New Jersey.

      Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University history professor and CNN analyst, agreed.

      2020 May 8, Oliver Darcy, “Meet OAN, the little-watched right-wing news channel that Trump keeps promoting”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 13 Aug 2020
    3. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of Princeton University, in the New Jersey borough.
    4. A town and city therein, in Green Lake County, Wisconsin.
  3. A male given name.

Origin

From prince + -ton (“town”), originally in honor of crown princes or princes of the British Empire but later chiefly in honor of others with the name Prince or locations named Princeton. Doublet of Princetown. Cf. Princes Town, Princeville, Kingston, Kingstone, Coniston, Kingstown, Queenston, and Queenstown. In particular, the British Columbian town is named for Edward VII, who was known as Albert, Prince of Wales, during the reign of his mother Queen Victoria. The New Jersey borough is named for William III—who became king of England through marriage to Mary II—in honor of his own separate Dutch title of Prince of Orange. The North Carolina town and Nebraska and Ontario communities are named for the New Jersey borough; the Missouri city is named for the Battle of Princeton which occurred there in the American Revolution; and the Illinois city and Florida CDP are named for the university named for its location in the borough. The given name derives from the prestigious university. The Massachusetts town is named for clergyman Thomas Prince, and the Wisconsin city and town are named for the Massachusetts town. The Minnesota city is named for its founder John S. Prince, and the Idaho CDP is named after the Minnosota city. The Indiana city is named for politician William Prince, and the Kansas city is named for the Indiana city. The Texas city is named for landowner Prince Dowlin. The Kentucky city is named for landowner William Prince.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Princeton

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

Princeton. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Princeton

MLA

“Princeton.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Princeton. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Princeton,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Princeton.

Source: Princeton on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.