principal
French, noun/pʁɛ̃.si.pal/
principal is spelled P-R-I-N-C-I-P-A-L (9 letters) and appears 68 times per million words in written French, the 1,228th most frequent French word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Principal is a French masculine noun meaning “someone or something which is important, key, paramount; that which matters most” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Personne considérée comme principale, considérable, remarquable”.
What does principal mean in English?
adjective
- 1
main, key, principal
l'un des principaux problèmes
noun
- 1
masculinesomeone or something which is important, key, paramount; that which matters most
les principaux du royaume
- 2
masculineprincipal (school administrator)
- 3
masculineprincipal (the money originally invested or loaned)
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. Qui est le premier, le plus considérable, le plus remarquable en son genre. 2. Qui apparait en premier lieu ou en première position. 3. Qualifie un idéal d’un anneau composé des multiples d’un même élément. 4. Qualifie un anneau dont tous les idéaux sont principaux.
noun: 1. Personne considérée comme principale, considérable, remarquable. 2. Ce qu’il y a de plus important, de plus considérable. 3. Première demande, le fond d’une affaire, d’une contestation. 4. Capital d’une dette.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of principal
- principale feminine
- principaux masculine plural
- principales feminine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce principal?
- /pʁɛ̃.si.pal/
- \pʁɛ̃.si.pal\
- [pʁɛ̃.si.pal]
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to principal
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is principal in French?
principal appears 68 times per million words in written French.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).