I. ˈprin(t)s noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin princip-, princeps first person, chief, prince, literally, one who takes the first part, from prin- (from primus first) + -cip-, -ceps (from capere to take) — more at heave
1.
a. : a sovereign ruler : monarch
noblemen passed from court to court, seeking service with one prince or another — W.M.Thackeray
b. : the ruler of a principality or state
New Delhi has promised the princes … the right to be called Your Highness — Time
the Prince of Monaco
2. : a male member of a royal family ; especially : a son or a grandson in the male line of the British king or queen
3. : a nobleman whose rank and status vary from one part of the world to another
Polynesian princes
a Chinese prince of the first degree
4. : an ecclesiastic of high rank ; specifically : cardinal
5.
a. : a person at the head of a class or profession : one very outstanding in a specified respect
a prince among men
that prince of hosts who left nothing undone for the comfort of his guests
a very prince of poets
— compare merchant prince
b. : a jolly good fellow : an open-handed and genial friend
he's a real prince
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
obsolete : to play or act the part of a prince — often used with it
showed a disposition to prince it