Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “prince” come from?

Prince comes from Old French prince, from Latin princeps, meaning "first" or "chief," derived from the root of Latin capio, "to take," with the suffix Latin -ia.

prince (English): A ruler, a sovereign; a king, monarch; A female...

Definitions

  1. A ruler, a sovereign; a king, monarch; A female...

Ancestry of “prince”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchprinceprince
2Latinprīnceps—
3Latinprimoceps—
4Latincapiō—
5Proto-Italickapiōtake
6Proto-Italickapjōtake, seize
7Proto-Indo-Europeankh₂pyéti—
8Proto-Indo-Europeankeh₂p-to seize, grab; to seize; take up; lift; to take,...

Words derived from “prince”

  • Princeton
  • princely
  • princedom
  • princeling
  • Princetonian
  • princeliness
  • unprincely
  • princelike
  • princelet
  • princeship
  • princified
  • princeless
  • unprincelike
  • disprinced
  • grand prince
  • merprince
  • unprinceliness
  • unprinced
  • princekin
  • prince bishop
  • princeful
  • princewood
  • プリンス
  • princo
Every word from Proto-Indo-European keh₂p- →