prince

noun

1. (archaic, historical)A (male) ruler, a sovereign; a king, monarch.

   “Truely, to see our Princes all alone, sitting at their meat, beleagred round with so many talkers, whisperers, and gazing beholders, unknowne what they are or whence they come, I have often rather pittied than envied them.”

   “By his last years Erasmus realized that princes like Henry VIII and François I had deceived him in their elaborate negotiations for universal peace, but his belief in the potential of princely power for good remained undimmed.”

   “If Henry does not fully trust him, is it surprising? A prince is alone: in his council chamber, in his bedchamber, and finally in Hell's antechamber, stripped – as Harry Percy said – for Judgment.”

2. (obsolete)A female monarch.

   “Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her sex.”

3. Someone who is preeminent in their field; a great person.

   “He is a prince among men.”

   “In some respects the intellectual is indeed closer to the philosopher than to any specialist, and the philosopher is in more than one sense a sort of prince among the intellectuals.”

4. The (male) ruler or head of a principality.

   “He is the prince who never grew up – a one-time playboy and son of the Hollywood star Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco.”

5. A male member of a royal family other than the ruler; especially (in the United Kingdom) the son or grandson of the monarch.
6. A non-royal high title of nobility, especially in France and the Holy Roman Empire.

   “Prince Louis de Broglie won the 1929 Nobel Prize in Physics.”

   “Conspiracy theories are always enticing: one I was involved with in the 50s was about Mayerling, the 19th-century Austrian scandal involving a prince’s lover who died in dodgy circumstances in a hunting lodge.”

7. A type of court card used in tarot cards, the equivalent of the jack.
8. The mushroom Agaricus augustus.
9. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Rohana.
10. The title of a prince.

    “Having been at the center of an international tragedy, the general public view is that the next generation—Princes William and Harry, and also Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice—have suffered enough and deserve every moment of happiness coming their way, and people are more than willing to help them celebrate their successes.”

    “Germany last year said it had foiled an attempt by another far-right group – the Reichsbuerger movement - to plot accused of plotting an attack on Germany’s parliament building, allegedly to overthrow its constitutional order and install the group’s central figure – aristocrat Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss – as leader.”

verb

1. (intransitive, often, rare)To behave or act like a prince.

   “The Roofes of Palaces, and Nature prompts them / In ſimple and lowe things, to Prince it, much / Beyond the tricke of others.”

2. (rare, transitive)To transform (someone) into a prince.

   “All I could remember is the chorus, and something about pumpkins turning into princesses (???!) and frogs turning into princes. I figured she meant the frog was John before she princed him.”

name

1. (countable, uncountable)A surname transferred from the nickname for someone who acted like a prince, or played the part in a pageant, or served in the household of a prince.
2. (countable, uncountable)A male given name from English in occasional use.

   “Prince Fielder hit another home run today.”

   “Young Mr Turveydrop's name is Prince; I wish it wasn't, because it sounds like a dog, but he didn't christen himself. Old Mr Turveydrop had him christened Prince, in remembrance of the Prince Regent.”

3. (countable, uncountable)A township in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada.
4. (countable, uncountable)A hamlet in the Rural Municipality of Meota No. 468, Saskatchewan, Canada.
5. (countable, uncountable)A census-designated place in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States.