What does the roman word princeps mean?

Answer 1

Princeps means first in time or order; the first man, first person, the most eminent. As the official title of the emperor it is usually translated the First Citizen.

This title was chosen by Augustus as the title king would be offensive to the senators. The title was derived from Princeps Senatus, the first among equals of the Senate, who was the most senior member of the senate and its first member by precedence and who was the first to speak.

Augustus became an absolute ruler, but kept pretence of upholding the institutions and the traditions of the Roman Republic. He called himself as a first among equals to portray himself as a benign ruler who worked in cooperation with the senate. In reality he turned the senate into an instrument for his rule.

The system of imperial rule created by Augustus up to the reign of the emperor Diocletian (285-305 AD) has been called Principate by historians. From Diocletian onward it has been called Dominate. Diocletian dropped the pretence created by Augustus and created a more autocratic system of rule. This term comes from the word dominus which means lord, master.