All 4 Uses of
principal
in
A Tale of Two Cities
- Now, which of the multitude of faces that showed themselves before him was the true face of the buried person, the shadows of the night did not indicate; but they were all the faces of a man of five-andforty by years, and they differed principally in the passions they expressed, and in the ghastliness of their worn and wasted state.†
Chpt 1.3
- But, perhaps the confidential bachelor clerks in Tellson's Bank were principally occupied with the cares of other people; and perhaps second-hand cares, like second-hand clothes, come easily off and on.†
Chpt 1.4
- The Stryver clerk, who never assisted at these conferences, had gone home, and the Stryver principal opened the door.†
Chpt 2.5 *
- It was a heavy mass of building, that chateau of Monsieur the Marquis, with a large stone courtyard before it, and two stone sweeps of staircase meeting in a stone terrace before the principal door.†
Chpt 2.9
Definition:
-
(principal) most important; or person who is most importantThe exact meaning of principal can depend upon its context. For example:
- "the principal idea" or "the principal performer" -- the most important
- "the principal of the school" -- the person in charge
- "a principal of a company" -- an owner or person with controlling authority
- "the principal in a transaction" (as contrasted to the agent) -- the person on whose behalf an agent acts