Word Confusion: Principal versus Principle

Revised as of
24 Sept 2022

This one is one of my bugaboos, and the easiest way to distinguish between principal and principle is to remember that principal (think pal) is generally a person while principle is generally a rule. Do keep in mind the generally as there are exceptions.

I am always getting principal vs. principle confused, and I do try to uphold my principles by telling you which ones I screw up myself, it’s only fair.

There’s another variation on principle which is the scientific rule. One rule I find useful is the one which says that by working up the explanations and definitions for these Word Confusions helps my brain hold onto them better.

Most of us know principal from our student days — and not wanting to end up in his or her office. Nowadays, many of us are our own principals in that we write our own posts for our blogs or write books or . . .

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Principal	Principle
John Bledsoe, Junior High School Principal, and His Secretary, Rohwer Relocation Center, McGehee, Arkansas, 25 Nov 1942, was photographed by Tom Parker (NARA record: 4682167) and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.	VOR Principle is Orion 8’s own work under the CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL licenses, via Wikimedia Commons.
Part of Grammar:
Adjective, Noun Plural for noun: principals	Noun Plural for noun: principles
Most important Person in charge Adjective: First in order of importance Main [Money] Denoting an original sum invested or lent Noun: Person with the highest authority or most important position in an organization, institution, or group Head of a school, college, or other educational institution Leading performer in a concert, play, ballet, or opera [Music] Leading player in each section of an orchestra Sum or money invested or lent on which interest is paid A person for whom another acts as an agent or representative [Law] Person directly responsible for a crime [Historical] Each of the combatants in a duel Main rafter supporting purlins Organ stop sounding a main register of open flue pipes typically an octave above the diapason	Rule Basis for conduct Fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning A general scientific theorem or law [Medicine] A basic truth, law, or assumption A rule or law concerning the functioning of natural phenomena or mechanical processes One of the elements composing a chemical compound, especially one that gives some special quality or effect [Medicine] Essential ingredient in a drug
Examples:
Adjective: The principal amount of your investment is intact. Noun: Being sent to the principal’s office can be scary. He is acting for his principals. Placido Domingo is a principal in most any opera. The principal in the orchestra is usually the first violin chair. His initial principal has increased quite a bit. An agency relationship consists of the principal and the agent where the principal gives the agent legal permissions to act on the principal’s behalf. Ryan Grantham was the principal in the murder of his mother. Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson were the principals in a duel. Principal purlins are supported by principal rafters and support common rafters in what is known as a double roof (Purlin). “Open diapason pipes are also known as principals” (Editors).	He is acting on his principles. He is a principled man. The man is simply without principles! In principle, that is how it should be done. He refused, on principle, to pay the fine.
Derivatives:
Noun: principalship, underprincipal
History of the Word:
From Middle English via Old French from the Latin principalis meaning first or original, which is from princeps, princip- meaning first, chief.	Late Middle English is from the Old French, from the Latin principium meaning source with principia (the plural) meaning foundations, which is from princeps, from princip- meaning first, chief.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Principal versus Principle

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: principle

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “diapason.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. n.d. Web. 24 Sept 2022. <https://www.britannica.com/art/principal-organ-stop>.

“Purlin.” Wikipedia.org. 27 April 2022. Web. 24 Sept 2022. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purlin#Principal_purlin>.

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Pinterest Photo Credits

Kayode Soyinka with Nobel Laurette Archbishop Desmond Tutu is Lord Ru’s own work under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.