PRINCIPAL

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin ~is, from princip-, princeps Date: 14th century most important, consequential, or influential ; chief , of, relating to, or constituting ~ or a ~, see: principle ~ly adverb II. noun Date: 14th century a person who has controlling authority or is in a leading position: as, a chief or head man or woman, the chief executive officer of an educational institution, one who engages another to act as an agent subject to general control and instruction, the chief or an actual participant in a crime, the person primarily or ultimately liable on a legal obligation, a leading performer ; star , a matter or thing of primary importance: as, a. a capital sum earning interest, due as a debt, or used as a fund, the corpus of an estate, portion, devise, or bequest, the construction that gives shape and strength to a roof and is usually one of several trusses, see: principle ~ship noun