2 uses
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Definition
most important; or person who is most important
The 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
- From my seat I could look down on Thornfield: the grey and battlemented hall was the principal object in the vale below me; its woods and dark rookery rose against the west.Chapter 12 (36% in)
- Sometimes all, as with one consent, suspended their by-play to observe and listen to the principal actors: for, after all, Mr. Rochester and — because closely connected with him — Miss Ingram were the life and soul of the party.Chapter 18 (53% in)
There are no more uses of "principal" in Jane Eyre.
Typical Usage
(best examples)