principia

P3R1I1N1C3I1P3I1A1

noun

First principles; elementary material.

OriginLatin prī̆ncipia →
UncommonScrabble 15
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Meanings

nounprincipia pl (normally plural, singular principium)

singular principium

  1. archaicpluralplural normallyFirst principles; elementary material.

    1776, Thomas Pownall, in a letter to the economist Adam Smith I do really think, that your book […] might become an institute, containing the principia of those laws of motion, by which the system of the human community is framed and doth act […]

    1 more example

    They were her principia, her rudiments; the elementary atoms; the little steps by which she pressed forward to perfection.

    1833, Elia [pseudonym; Charles Lamb], “Barbara S⁠——”, in The Last Essays of Elia. […], London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 116

Origin

  1. Latinprī̆ncipia
  2. Latinprī̆ncipia
  3. Englishprincipia

Learned borrowing from Latin prī̆ncipia.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

principia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/principia

MLA

“principia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/principia. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “principia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/principia.

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