- (n.) Beginning; commencement.
- (n.) Any original inherent constituent which characterizes a substance or gives it its essential properties, and which can usually be separated by analysis; -- applied especially to drugs, plant extracts, etc.
- (n.) An original faculty or endowment.
- (n.) A settled rule of action; a governing law of conduct; an opinion or belief which exercises a directing influence on the life and behavior; a rule (usually, a right rule) of conduct consistently directing one's actions; as, a person of no principle.
- (v.t.) To equip with principles; to establish or fix, in certain principles; to impress with any tenet or rule of conduct, good or ill.
- (n.) A fundamental truth; a comprehensive law or doctrine, from which others are derived or on which others are founded; a general truth; an elementary proposition; a maxim; an axiom; a postulate.
- (n.) A source or origin; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element or cause.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). principle. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/principle/definitions/2049270 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "principle" http://smartdefine.org/principle/definitions/2049270 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, principle, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/principle/definitions/2049270>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "principle" 27 May 2011. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/principle/definitions/2049270> |