prince

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman, from Old French prince, from Latin prīnceps (“first head”), from prīmus (“first”) + capiō (“seize, take”). Doublet of princeps. Displaced native Old English æþeling.

noun

1. (now archaic or historical) A (male) ruler, a sovereign; a king, monarch.
   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. 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 600
   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. 2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate, published 2010, page 411
2. (obsolete) A female monarch.
3. Someone who is preeminent in their field; a great person.
   He is a prince among men.
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. 26 June 2011, Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian
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. 16 October 2011, Katharine Whitehorn, The Guardian
7. The mushroom Agaricus augustus.
8. A type of court card used in tarot cards, the equivalent of the jack.
9. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Rohana.