Principal and principle are two words that can be confusing for even the most seasoned English speakers. They are homophones, which means that they sound alike but have different meanings.
As a noun, principal means someone in charge like a school principal or company owner. As an adjective, it means first or highest in rank or importance.
What is the Difference Between Principle and Principal?
Homophones, words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings, can be very confusing for people learning to write. They can also cause frustration for your readers if you use them incorrectly in your writing. Principal and principle are two such words that many people confuse with each other. This article will help clarify the difference between these two words and give you a few tricks to remember the difference.
As a noun, principal refers to someone in charge. This can be a school principal, a bank principal, or even a company owner. It can also be used as an adjective to mean important or first in rank or importance. For example, you may hear someone say that they agree with something in principle but want to see more details before they officially agree. This means that they agree with the general idea of the thing, but not all of the specifics.
The Meaning of Principle
A principle is a rule, law, doctrine or idea that serves as a basis for behavior and belief. It is a fundamental truth that is generally known or self-evident.
A person of principle is someone who behaves in accordance with their moral ideals and refuses to compromise or bend their principles. The principle of avoiding harming others is a fundamental good that we should all strive to live by.
A principle can also refer to something first in a certain order, followed by everything else that comes after it. For example, the Archimedes principle, which relates buoyancy to the weight of displaced water, is an important scientific principle that helps explain how boats float. Likewise, the principle of binomial nomenclature is a critical principle in biology that ensures that species are named correctly. These are just two examples of principles that help us better understand the world around us. In fact, there are many more principles that we use to guide our decisions and actions every day.
The Meaning of Principal
The word principal, when used as a noun, refers to an important person. It can also refer to a law or a principle that governs someone’s behavior. For example, the principle of innocence until proven guilty is a fundamental rule of our legal system. A principle is a general belief or a basic truth, such as the principle that everyone deserves fair treatment. For example, you may think it’s unfair for the boss to treat one employee differently than another employee.
The word principal can also be found in financial contexts, where it refers to the primary sum of money that is lent or invested. For example, the bank promised Melissa that they would not raise the interest rates on her mortgage loan. The word principal is part of the group of words known as homonyms, which sound the same but have different meanings. It joins the ranks of words such as to, too, and two.
The Misuse of Principle
Even though every grammar book and usage guide out there warns against misusing principal and principle, it seems that many people still misuse these words. Mnemonic devices (both silly and serious) and detailed explanations of etymologies and parts of speech have been used in an attempt to help people remember the difference between these two terms, but for some reason, the confusion remains.
One helpful trick is to remember that principal ends with -pal, whereas principle ends with -le. Another way to remember the difference between these homophones is to consider that principle often pertains to moral or legal rules, laws and standards, whereas principal refers to leadership positions. If you keep these tips in mind when communicating both verbally and in writing, you will avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings. Good luck!