prince

/pɹɪns/

//pɹɪns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"prince" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prince” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,960 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,960
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A (male) ruler, a sovereign; a king, monarch.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

prince vs prize
67% similar
prince vs print
67% similar
prince vs prone
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for prince
PropertyValue
Headwordprince
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pɹɪns/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,960
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prince” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). prince lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for prince is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹɪns/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,960 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for prince, with forms such as "pirnce", "pprince", and "pricne". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "prize", "print", "prone", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English prince, from Anglo-Norman prince, from Latin prīnceps (“first head”), from prīmus (“first”) + capiō (“seize, take”). Cognate with Old English fruma (“prince, ruler”). Doublet of princeps and principe. Displaced native Middle English athe… The correct English form is prince, spelled P-R-I-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A (male) ruler, a sovereign; a king, monarch.
  2. 2
    A female monarch.
  3. 3
    Someone who is preeminent in their field; a great person.
  4. 4
    The (male) ruler or head of a principality.
  5. 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. 6
    A non-royal high title of nobility, especially in France and the Holy Roman Empire.
  7. 7
    A type of court card used in tarot cards, the equivalent of the jack.
  8. 8
    The mushroom Agaricus augustus.
  9. 9
    Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Rohana.

Etymology

From Middle English prince, from Anglo-Norman prince, from Latin prīnceps (“first head”), from prīmus (“first”) + capiō (“seize, take”). Cognate with Old English fruma (“prince, ruler”). Doublet of princeps and principe. Displaced native Middle English atheling, from Old English æþeling; Middle English kinebarn, from Old English cynebearn; Middle English alder, from Old English ealdor; and Middle English drighten, from Old English dryhten.

This word in other languages

príncipe(Español)prince(Français)Fürst(Deutsch)príncipe(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: pirnce,pprince,pricne,princce,prinec,prinnce,prnice,prrince,rpince

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prince - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

pirnce2pprince1pricne2princce1prinec2prinnce1prnice2prrince1
Edit distance from "prince"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "prince"?
"prince" is spelled P-R-I-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹɪns/.
What does "prince" mean?
As a noun, "prince" means: A (male) ruler, a sovereign; a king, monarch.
What words are commonly confused with "prince"?
"prince" is commonly confused with "prize", "print", "prone". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prince"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prince" is /pɹɪns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "prince"?
From Middle English prince, from Anglo-Norman prince, from Latin prīnceps (“first head”), from prīmus (“first”) + capiō (“seize, take”). Cognate with Old English fruma (“prince, ruler”). Doublet of princeps and principe. Displaced native Middle En... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “prince”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-R-I-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /pɹɪns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “prize” - see the side-by-side comparison. prince vs prize
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list