Language Arts What is the difference between "principal" and "principle"? Keep reading to learn the definitions of "principal" and "principle" and when it is appropriate to use "principal" vs. "principle."

Two of the complications arising from the widely varied background of English words is that we have multiple spellings for the same sounds and multiple prefixes, suffixes, and roots with the same meaning. Thus, where we have the homophones principal and principle, other languages have distinct forms that are not homophones:

English:	principal	principle
French:	principal	principe
Italian:	principale	principio
Portuguese:	principal	principio
Spanish:	principal	principio

/UHL/

The fact is that in English the ending /ulh/ can be spelled in a number of ways. There are the suffixes ��"al and ��"ile, as well as the letters le found at the end of the suffixes -able and -ible, and the final letters el and il which do not belong to suffixes, but still may fall at the end of words and may have the same sound.

-al        adj. of, relating to or characterized by; noun the action

-ile       adj. tending to, capable of; noun segment of a frequency distribution

Now that we have that clarified, let's look at the two words:

Principal

Principal can be an adjective or a noun. It has both general uses as well as specialized uses in law and architecture. Because most of the confusion comes in general use, we will stick to those meanings.  As a noun, principal can refer to the foremost or top-ranked position in a primary or secondary school, in a performance, or in any situation. In finances, it refers to a sum of money distinguished from either interest or revenue connected with the money. As an adjective, principal means the highest or first in rank or relating to the principal in a financial transaction. Here are example sentences:

Every morning at the school assembly, the principal says a few words.

I am happy to announce that as of this morning the casting of the principals for the film is set.

You are free to pay down your principal at any time.

The word principal came into English through Old French and Middle English from Latin principalis, which has a root meaning “leader or emperor.” It is pronounced /PRIHN sih puhl/.

Principle

Principle is a noun only, and has no adjectival meanings. Like principal, it has a specialized meaning - in this case in the field of chemistry, but again, we're going to stick to general meanings. Some of the meanings of principle relate to something that is basic and/or underlying. So we find that it means “a basic truth or law” and “a basic or essential quality that is intrinsic.” It also refers to rules, for example in the meanings “a rule or standard to follow,” “a fixed policy,” and “a rule or law about the function of natural phenomena or mechanical processes.” Here are example sentences:

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson began with an explanation based on what he considered to be the fundamental principles of human rights.

Eduardo follows the principle of doing unto others. . . .

Kumi is a woman of strong principles.

Our organization has three guiding principles, set out in our mission statement.

The Equimarginal Principle is a principle for diagnosing economic efficiency.

Principle comes from an altered form of the Old French principe, which comes from the Latin princeps, and ultimately from the same root as principal: princip, meaning “leader or emperor.” It is pronounced identically to principal: /PRIHN sih puhl/.

Distinguishing Principal and Principle

The most common mnemonic for distinguishing principal and principle is “The principal is your pal,” a reminder to connect the meanings that relate to a person to the spelling p-a-l rather than p-l-e. This will work for some people, while others may find that this doesn't provide enough clues. If this is the case for you, try this:

Associate the meanings of principal with the word main, which has an a like principal and which can be connected with all the meanings. Associate the meanings of principle with the word rule, which ends in le, like principle, and which can be connected with all its meanings in a broad sense.