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Webster 1913 Edition


Princess

Prin′cess

,
Noun.
[F.
princesse
. See
Prince
, and cf.
Princesse
.]
1.
A female prince; a woman having sovereign power, or the rank of a prince.
Dryden.
So excellent a
princess
as the present queen.
Swift.
2.
The daughter of a sovereign; a female member of a royal family.
Shak.
3.
The consort of a prince;
as, the
princess
of Wales
.
Princess royal
,
the eldest daughter of a sovereign.

Webster 1828 Edition


Princess

PRIN'CESS

,
Noun.
A female sovereign, as an empress or queen.
1.
A sovereign lady of rank next to that of a queen.
2.
The daughter of a king.
3.
The consort of a prince; as the princess of Wales.

Definition 2024


Princess

Princess

See also: princess

English

Proper noun

Princess

  1. The title of a princess.
  2. (rare) A female given name.
    • 2009 Princess Kasune Zulu, Warrior Princess, IVP Books, ISBN 978-0-8308-3725-0, page 202:
      It was funny to me that my name, Princess Kasune Zulu, became such a big deal on this trip. I participated in a number of media interviews where journalists fixated on my name. "Are you a real princess?" they asked time and time again. Their published articles all too often said, "Princess is only her name, not a title."

princess

princess

See also: Princess

English

Noun

princess (plural princesses, masculine prince)

  1. A female member of a royal family other than a queen, especially a daughter or granddaughter. [from 14th c.]
    • 1872, George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin
      She did not cry long, however, for she was as brave as could be expected of a princess of her age.
  2. A woman or girl who excels in a given field or class. [from 14th c.]
  3. (now archaic) A female ruler or monarch; a queen. [from 15th c.]
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.12:
      And running all with greedie ioyfulnesse / To faire Irena, at her feet did fall, / And her adored with due humblenesse, / As their true Liege and Princesse naturall [...].
  4. The wife of a prince; the female ruler of a principality. [from 15th c.]
    Princess Grace was the Princess of Monaco.
  5. A young girl; used as a term of endearment. [from 18th c.]
  6. (derogatory, chiefly US) A young girl or woman considered vain, spoiled or selfish; a prima donna. [from 20th c.]
    You're a real princess.
  7. A tinted crystal marble used in children's games.
  8. A type of court card in the Tarot pack, coming between the 10 and the prince (Jack).
  9. A female lemur.

Usage notes

  • Possessive forms: princess's (main form used by academics) The princess's golden hair.; princess' (main form used by newspapers) The princess' golden hair.
  • A princess is usually styled “Her Highness”. A princess in a royal family is “Her Royal Highness”; in an imperial family “Her Imperial Highness”.

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

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