principal
Portuguese, noun/pɾĩ.siˈpaw/
principal is spelled P-R-I-N-C-I-P-A-L (9 letters) and appears 186 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 503rd most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Principal is a Portuguese masculine noun meaning “prelate of a religious, educational or commercial institution” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “uma quantia equivalente ao capital investido em um título, devolvido após um prazo definido, em uma única vez…”.
What does principal mean in English?
adjective
- 1
femininemasculinemain; principal (most important)
- 2
femininemasculinefundamental; essential
- 3
femininemasculinehaving another body orbiting it
- 4
femininemasculinenot subordinate
noun
- 1
masculineprelate of a religious, educational or commercial institution
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. o mais importante 2. notável 3. oração seguida por uma oração subordinada
noun: 1. uma quantia equivalente ao capital investido em um título, devolvido após um prazo definido, em uma única vez ou em parcelas 2. a parte do empréstimo, equivalente ao capital emprestado, sobre a qual incide o juro 3. chefe 4. superior de comunidade religiosa ou convento
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of principal
- principais plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce principal?
- Brazil /pɾĩ.siˈpaw/
- Brazil [pɾĩ.siˈpaʊ̯]
- Portugal /pɾĩ.siˈpal/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (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 Portuguese?
principal appears 186 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).