princess
American Heritage Dictionary:
Top
prin·cess
(prĭn'sĭs, -sĕs', prĭn-sĕs') 
n.
Designed to hang in smooth, close-fitting, unbroken lines from shoulder to flared hem: a princess dress.
n.
- A woman member of a royal family other than the monarch, especially a daughter of a monarch.
- A woman who is a ruler of a principality.
- A woman who is a hereditary ruler; a queen.
- A noblewoman of varying status or rank.
- The wife of a prince.
- A woman regarded as having the status or qualities of a princess.
Designed to hang in smooth, close-fitting, unbroken lines from shoulder to flared hem: a princess dress.
[Middle English princesse, from Old French, feminine of prince, prince. See prince.]
Related Videos:
Top
princess
Word Tutor:
Top
princess
IN BRIEF: A daughter or granddaughter of a king or queen.
At length I recollected the thoughtless saying of a great princess, who, on being informed that the country people had no bread, replied, "Let them eat cake."
— Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!
Sign Language Videos:
Top
princess
sign description: The P-hand begins at the shoulder, moves across the chest and downward.
Random House Word Menu:
Top
categories related to 'princess'
- Titles of Rank - princess: female member of royal family, esp. daughter or granddaughter of sovereign; consort of prince; woman holding sovereign power
- Behavior or Personality
See crossword solutions for the clue Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Princess
For other uses, see Princess (disambiguation).
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007) |
Princess is the feminine form of prince (from Latin princeps, meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince or for the daughters of a king or sovereign prince.
For many centuries, the title "princess" was not regularly used for a monarch's daughter, who might simply be called "Lady" or a non-English equivalent. Old English had no female equivalent of "prince", "earl", or any royal or noble title aside from queen. Royal women, or women of the nobility, were simply addressed or referred to as "Lady" or "The Lady Firstname" for a particularly highborn woman.
As women slowly gained more autonomy and respect in European history, the title of princess became simply the female counterpart of prince; it does not necessarily imply being merely married to a prince.[citation needed] A princess may be a hereditary, sovereign, head of state in her own right.
The traditional meaning still applies in Europe in the sense that an untitled or at least non-royal woman who marries a prince will almost always become a princess with the possibility of eventually becoming Queen Consort, in nations where that title exists; but a man who marries a princess will almost never become a prince, unless his wife is expected to inherit the higher title of Queen regnant. If that is the case, then on her inheritance of that sovereign title, he will remain a prince.
In many of Europe's royal families, a king would grant his heirs actual or theoretical principalities to train them for future kingship or to give them social class. This practice has led over time to many people thinking that "prince" and "princess" are titles reserved for the immediate family of a king or queen. In fact, most princesses in history were not immediate members of a royal family but rather women who married into it.
See also
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
Top
Princess
Dansk (Danish)
n. - prinsesse, fyrstinde
adj. - prinsesse-
idioms:
- princess royal titel for den engelske monarks ældste datter
Français (French)
n. - princesse
adj. - de princesse
idioms:
- princess royal princesse héritière, princesse royale
Deutsch (German)
n. - Prinzessin, Fürstin
adj. - Prinzessin...
idioms:
- princess royal älteste Tochter des Monarchen
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - πριγκίπισσα, βασιλοπούλα
idioms:
- princess royal βασιλική πριγκίπισσα
Italiano (Italian)
principessa
idioms:
- princess royal principessa ereditaria, principessa reale
Português (Portuguese)
n. - princesa (f)
idioms:
- princess royal princesa real
Русский (Russian)
принцесса, исключительная
idioms:
- princess royal наследная принцесса
Español (Spanish)
n. - princesa, infanta
adj. - relativo a la princesa
idioms:
- princess royal princesa real
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - prinsessa, furstinna
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
公主, 公爵夫人, 王妃, 紧身连衣裙的
idioms:
- princess royal 大公主
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 公主, 公爵夫人, 王妃
adj. - 緊身連衣裙的
idioms:
- princess royal 大公主
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 공주, 왕녀
adj. - 프린세스 스타일의
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 王女, 皇女, 王妃, 公爵夫人
idioms:
- princess royal 第一皇女
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) الأميرة
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - נסיכה, אשת נסיך, בת מלך, אישה ממשפחת המלוכה (פרט למלכה הנמצאת בשלטון)
adj. - של נסיכה (ביחוד לבוש)
If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
Word Tutor
Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved.
eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; sign up free. Read more
eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; sign up free. Read more
Random House Word Menu
© 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier.
Write Brothers Inc.
All rights reserved.
Read more
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary
Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008
HarperCollins Publishers
All rights reserved.
Read more
Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Princess.
Read more
Mentioned in
Margaret Rose, Princess
(Princess of Great Britain)
El Halcon del desierto
(1965 Adventure Film)
» More