principal
adjective
[ ˈprɪnsɪp(ə)l ]
• first in order of importance; main.
• "the country's principal cities"
Similar:
main,
chief,
primary,
leading,
foremost,
first,
most important,
predominant,
dominant,
(most) prominent,
key,
crucial,
vital,
essential,
basic,
staple,
critical,
pivotal,
salient,
prime,
central,
focal,
premier,
paramount,
major,
ruling,
master,
supreme,
overriding,
cardinal,
capital,
pre-eminent,
ultimate,
uppermost,
highest,
utmost,
top,
topmost,
arch-,
number-one,
• denoting an original sum invested or lent.
• "the principal amount of your investment"
principal
noun
• the most important or senior person in an organization or group.
• "a design consultancy whose principal is based in San Francisco"
Similar:
boss,
chief,
chief executive (officer),
CEO,
chairman,
chairwoman,
managing director,
MD,
president,
director,
manager,
employer,
head,
leader,
ruler,
controller,
head honcho,
gaffer,
governor,
guv'nor,
• a sum of money lent or invested, on which interest is paid.
• "the winners are paid from the interest without even touching the principal"
• a person for whom another acts as an agent or representative.
• "stockbrokers in Tokyo act as agents rather than as principals"
• the person directly responsible for a crime.
• a main rafter supporting purlins.
• an organ stop sounding a main register of open flue pipes typically an octave above the diapason.
• "all the principals are on one manual"
Origin:
Middle English: via Old French from Latin principalis ‘first, original’, from princeps, princip- ‘first, chief’.
