LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

prī̆ncipium

prī̆ncipium n (genitive prī̆ncipiī or prī̆ncipī)
Classical[priːŋˈkɪ.pi.ũː]Ecclesiastical[prin̠ʲˈt͡ʃiː.pi.um]
№ 948 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. a beginning, an origin, a commencement
    In prīncipiō erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum et Deus erat Verbum.In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God.[90-110], [John] Iōannēs, Biblia [Bible], volume Novum Testāmentum [New Testament] (canonical gospel), Ēvangelium secundum Iōannem [Gospel according to John], chapter 1, verse 1, lines 1–3:
  2. a groundwork, a foundation, a principle
  3. in pluralthe elements, the first principles
  4. in pluralthe front ranks, camp headquarters

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Initium · Principium · Primordium

1. Initium denotes the beginning in an abstract sense, as the mere point from which a thing begins, in opp. to exitus. Cic. Rosc. Com. 13, 39. Tusc. i. 38. Brut. 34. Sen. Ep. 9. N. Q. iii. 29; whereas principium denotes the beginning as a concrete notion, as that part of the whole which stands before the other parts in things, and goes before them in actions, in opp. to extremum. Cic. Cleunt. 4. Orat. 61, 204. Cæc. 15, 44. In initium the beginning is made only with reference to time; in principium the foundation also is laid with reference to space. The initium is pushed out of the way by that which follows; the principium serves as a basis for that which follows. The initia philosophiæ are the rudiments over which the scholar goes, and which are superseded by further studies; the principia are the fundamental principles, to which he must always recur. Initio usually means “at the beginning, but differently (or, not at all) afterwards;” whereas principio means from the very beginning, and so onwards. 2. Primordium is a more solemn and comprehensive term than principium, and supposes a whole of great extent, the beginning of which is so far removed that one can distinguish a merely apparent beginning from the actual and primeval source and origin. (iii. 163.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeprī̆ncipiumprī̆ncipia
genitiveprī̆ncipiī
prī̆ncipī		prī̆ncipiōrum
dativeprī̆ncipiōprī̆ncipiīs
accusativeprī̆ncipiumprī̆ncipia
ablativeprī̆ncipiōprī̆ncipiīs
vocativeprī̆ncipiumprī̆ncipia

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

a falsis principiis proficisci
to start from false premises.

princĭpĭum, ii, n. princeps,
I. a beginning, commencement, origin (class.; syn.: primordia, initium).
I. In gen.: origo principii nulla est: nam ex principio oriuntur omnia, Cic. Tusc. 1, 23, 54: quid est cujus principium aliquod sit, nihil sit extremum? id. N. D. 1, 8, 20: nec principium, nec finem habere, id. Sen. 21, 78: cujus criminis neque principium invenire, neque evolvere exitum possum, id. Cael. 23, 56: hic fons, hoc principium est movendi, id. Rep. 6, 25, 27: bellorum atque imperiorum, id. Balb. 3, 9: principium pontis, Tac. A. 1, 69: principio lucis, at daybreak, Amm. 25, 5, 1: in principiis dicendi, at the commencement of a speech, Cic. de Or. 1, 26, 121; so of a declaration in a lawsuit, Juv. 6, 245: suave quoddam principium dicendi, Amm. 30, 4, 19: principia ducere ab aliquo, to derive, deduce: omnium rerum magnarum principia a dis immortalibus ducuntur, id. Vatin. 6, 14: principium urbis, id. Off. 1, 17, 54: scribendi recte sapere est et principium et fons, Hor. A. P. 309: omne principium huc refer, id. C. 3, 6, 6: a Jove principium, Verg. E. 3, 60: anni, Liv. 1, 4: a sanguine Teucri Ducere principium, Ov. M. 13, 705: capessere, to begin, Tac. A. 15, 49.—Adverb.: principio, a principio, in principio, at or in the beginning, at first: principio ... postea, etc., Cic. Div. 2, 35, 75: principio generi animantium omni est a naturā tributum, ut se tueatur, id. Off. 1, 4, 11; id. Tusc. 2, 22, 53; id. Fin. 1, 6, 17; Ter. Eun. 5, 8, 39; id. And. 3, 3, 38; Verg. A. 6, 214; Cic. Off. 3, 5, 21; so, a principio: ac vellem a principio te audissem, etc., id. Att. 7, 1, 2: dixeram a principio, de re publicā ut sileremus, id. Brut. 42, 157: in principio, id. de Or. 1, 48, 210: principio ut, as soon as, Plaut. Merc. prol. 40; v. Ritschl ad h. l.— Rarely of the boundaries of a country or people: adusque principia Carmanorum, Amm. 23, 6, 74.—
II. In partic.
A. Plur., beginnings, foundations, principles, elements (class.): bene provisa et diligenter explorata principia ponantur, Cic. Leg. 1, 13, 37: juris, id. ib. 1, 6, 18: naturae, id. Off. 3, 12, 52; for which: principia naturalia, id. Fin. 3, 5, 17; cf. id. ib. 2, 11, 35: principia rerum, ex quibus omnia constant, first principles, elements, id. Ac. 2, 36, 117.— Prov.: obsta principiis (cf. the French: ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute), Ov. R. Am. 91.—
B. That makes a beginning, that votes first: tribus principium fuit, pro tribu Q. Fabius primus scivit, Lex Thoria, Rudorff. p. 142; Lex Appar. ap. Haubold, Moment. Leg. p. 85; Plebissc. ap. Front. Aquaed. 129: Faucia curia fuit principium, was the first to vote, Liv. 9, 38 fin.—
2. In gen., a beginner, originator, founder, ancestor (poet.): Graecia principium moris fuit, Ov. F. 2, 37: mihi Belus avorum Principium, ancestor, progenitor, Sil. 15, 748.—Here, too, prob. belongs PRINCIPIA SACRA, Æneas and his successors in Lavinium, ancestors whom the Latins and Romans honored as deities, Inscr. Orell. 2276.—
C. In milit. lang.: princĭpĭa, ōrum, n.
1. The foremost ranks, the front line of soldiers, the front or van of an army: post principia, behind the front, Liv. 2, 65; cf.: hic ero post principia, inde omnibus signum dabo, Ter. Eun. 4, 7, 11: post principia paulatim recedunt, Sisenn. ap. Non. 135, 31: deinde ipse paulatim procedere; Marium post principia habere, Sall. J. 50, 2: traversis principiis, in planum deducit, id. ib. 49, 6: equites post principia collocat, Liv. 3, 22; Tac. H. 2, 43. —
2. The staff-officers, members of the council of war (post-class.): mittere principia, Front. Strat. 2, 5, 30: a principiis salutari, Treb. Pol. Trig. Tyr. 10: advocatis legionum principiis et turmarum, Amm. 25, 5, 1; Cod. 12, 47, 1.—
3. A large open space in a camp, in which were the tents of the general, lieutenants, and tribunes, together with the standards, and where speeches were made and councils held; the general's quarters: jura reddere in principiis, Liv. 28, 24: in principiis ac praetorio in unum sermones confundi, id. 7, 12: castrorum, Just. 11, 6, 6: in castris, Varr. R. R. 3, 4, 1: in principiis statuit tabernaculum, eoque omnes cotidie convenire (jussit), ut ibi de summis rebus consilia caperentur, Nep. Eum. 7, 2; Suet. Oth. 1; 6; Flor. 3, 10, 12: primores centurionum et paucos militum in principia vocat, Tac. H. 3, 13; 1, 48; Dig. 49, 16, 12; cf. Front. Strat. 4, 1, 16.—
D. Precedence, preference, the first place: principium ergo, columenque omnium rerum preti margaritae tenent, Plin. 9, 35, 54, § 106. —
E. Plur., selections, selected passages: principiorum libri circumferuntur, quia existimatur pars aliqua etiam sine ceteris esse perfecta, Plin. Ep. 2, 5, 12.—
2. In partic., mastery, dominion (post-class.): ἀρχή, magisterium, magistratus, praesidatus, principium, Gloss. Philox.: in Graeco principii vocabulum, quod est ἀρχή, non tantum ordinativum, sed et potestativum capit principatum, Tert. adv. Hermog. 19.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Latinprī̆ncipium

Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-der. Proto-Italic *pri Proto-Indo-European *-yōs Proto-Indo-European *-(t)m̥mos Proto-Indo-European *-is(t)m̥mós Proto-Italic *-isəmos Proto-Italic *prīzmos Latin prīmus substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Italic *kapjō Archaic Latin kapiō Latin capiō Proto-Indo-European *-s Latin -s Latin -ceps Latin prī̆nceps Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium Latin prī̆ncipium From prī̆nceps (“first, foremost”) + -ium (“suffix forming abstract nouns”).

Descendants
  • Catalanprincipi
  • Italianprincipio
  • Frenchprincipefrom Old French principe
  • Englishprinciplefrom Old French principe
  • Portugueseprincípio
  • Romanianprincipiu
  • Spanishprincipio
  • Asturianprincipiu
  • Galicianprincipio
  • Danishprincipfrom Old French principe

In English words that came into English from prī̆ncipium

  • principleprī̆ncipium
  • principiantprincipians

Quick answers

What does prī̆ncipium mean in Latin?
prī̆ncipium, a noun, means “a beginning, an origin, a commencement; a groundwork, a foundation, a principle; the elements, the first principles”.
What is the genitive of prī̆ncipium?
The genitive singular is prī̆ncipiī. prī̆ncipium is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce prī̆ncipium?
In classical Latin, [priːŋˈkɪ.pi.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [prin̠ʲˈt͡ʃiː.pi.um].
Where does prī̆ncipium come from?
Proto-Indo-European *per- → Latin prī̆ncipium.