Online Etymology Dictionary

principle: late 14c., "fundamental truth or proposition," from Anglo-Norm. principle, from O.Fr. principe, from L. principium (pl. principia) "a beginning, first part," from princeps (see prince). Meaning "origin, source" is attested from early 15c. Sense of "general rule of conduct" is from 1530s. Used absolutely for (good or moral) principle from 1650s.
It is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them. [Adlai Stevenson, speech, New York City, Aug. 27, 1952]
Scientific sense of "general law of nature" is recorded from 1802.
principled: "moral," 1690s, pp. adj. from principle.
yoni: 1799, from Skt., "female sexual principle as an object of veneration," lit. "vulva, womb."
Bernoulli's principle: named for Du. mathematician Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), who published it in 1738.
establishmentarian: "adherent of the principle of an established church," 1846, from establishment.
Peter Principle: 1968, "in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence," named for (and by) Laurence Johnston Peter (1919-1990) Canadian-born U.S. educationalist and author, who described it in his book of the same name (1969).
Heisenberg: in ref. to Ger. physicist Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976), pioneer of quantum mechanics. His "uncertainty principle" (deduced in 1927) is that an electron may have a determinate position, or a determinate velocity, but not both.
monism: "the philosophical doctrine that there is only one principle," 1862, from Mod.L. monismus, from Gk. monos "alone." First used in Ger. by Ger. philosopher Baron Christian von Wolff (1679-1754).
spirit (n.): mid-13c., "animating or vital principle in man and animals," from O.Fr. espirit, from L. spiritus "soul, courage, vigor, breath," related to spirare "to breathe," from PIE *(s)peis- "to blow" (cf. O.C.S. pisto "to play on the flute"). Original usage in English mainly from passages in Vulgate, where the Latin word translates Gk. pneuma and Heb. ruah. Distinction between "soul" and "spirit" (as "seat of emotions") became current in Christian terminology (e.g. Gk. psykhe vs. pneuma, L. anima vs. spiritus) but "is without significance for earlier periods" [Buck]. L. spiritus, usually in classical L. "breath," replaces animus in the sense "spirit" in the imperial period and appears in Christian writings as the usual equivalent of Gk. pneuma. Meaning "supernatural being" is attested from c.1300 (see ghost); that of "essential principle of something" (in a non-theological sense, e.g. Spirit of St. Louis) is attested from 1690, common after 1800. Plural form spirits "volatile substance" is an alchemical idea, first attested 1610; sense narrowed to "strong alcoholic liquor" by 1670s. This also is the sense in spirit level (1768).
domino theory: in geo-politics, by 1963; see domino. Eisenhower's original phrase was domino principle (1954).
rudiment: 1540s, from M.Fr. (16c.), from L. rudimentum "early training, first experience, beginning, first principle," from rudis "unlearned, untrained" (see rude).
unprincipled: 1634, "not instructed" (in something), from un- (1) "not" + principled (see principle). Meaning "not honorable" is recorded from 1644.
simplistic: 1881, "trying to explain too much by a single principle," earlier (1860) "of or pertaining to simples" (herbs used in healing; the notion is of medicine of one ingredient only), from simplist "one who studies simples" (1597); see simple.
psychosis: 1847, "mental derangement," from Gk. psykhe- "mind" (see psyche) + Mod.L. -osis "abnormal condition." Gk. psykhosis meant "animation, principle of life."
element: c.1300, "earth, air, fire, or water," from O.Fr. element (10c.), from L. elementem "rudiment, first principle, matter in its most basic form" (translating Gk. stoikheion), origin unknown. Meaning "simplest component of a complex substance" is late 14c. Modern sense in chemistry is from 1813. Elements "atmospheric force" is 1550s.
mahatma: 1884, lit. "great-souled," from Skt. mahatman, from maha "great" (see maharajah) + atman "breath, soul, principle of life." In esoteric Buddhism, "a person of supernatural powers." In common use, as a title, a mark of love and respect. Said to have been applied to Gandhi (1869-1948) in 1915 by poet Rabrindranath Tagore.
exorbitant: mid-15c., from L. exorbitantem (nom. exorbitans), prp. of exorbitare "deviate, go out of the track," from ex- "out of" (see ex-) + orbita "wheel track." Originally "deviating from rule or principle, eccentric;" sense of "excessive, immoderate" (of prices, rates, etc.) first recorded 1660s. Related: Exorbitantly.
maxim: "precept, principle," early 15c., from M.Fr. maxime, from L.L. maxima, usually in maxima propositio "axiom," lit. "greatest premise," fem. of maximus "greatest" (see maximum).
hormone: 1905, from Gk. hormon "that which sets in motion," prp. of horman "impel, urge on," from horme "onset, impulse." Used by Hippocrates to denote a vital principle; modern meaning coined by English physiologist Ernest Henry Starling (1866-1927). Jung used horme (1915) in ref. to hypothetical mental energy that drives unconscious activities and instincts. Related: Hormones.
nonviolent: also non-violent, 1920, in reference to "principle or practice of abstaining from violence," first in writings of M.K. Gandhi, from non- + violent.
It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. [Gandhi, "Non-violence in Peace and War," 1948]
value (n.): c.1300, from O.Fr. value "worth, value" (13c.), noun use of fem. pp. of valoir "be worth," from L. valere "be strong, be well, be of value" (see valiant). The meaning "social principle" is attested from 1918, supposedly borrowed from the language of painting. The verb is recorded from late 15c. Related: Valued, valuing. Value judgment (1892) is a loan-translation of Ger. Werturteil.
antidisestablishmentarianism: 1838, said by Weekley to be first recorded in Gladstone's "Church and State," "in reference to a scheme directed against the Church of England," from establishment in the sense of "the ecclesiastical system established by law; the Church of England" (1731). Hence, establishmentarianism "the principle of a state church," and disestablish (1590s) "to deprive (a church) of especial state patronage and support" (first used specifically of Christian churches in 1806). Rarely used at all now except in examples of the longest words, amongst which it has been counted since at least 1923.
phlogiston: 1730, "hypothetical inflammatory principle," formerly believed to exist in all combustible matter, from Mod.L. (1702), from Gk. phlogiston (1610s in this sense), neut. of phlogistos "burnt up, inflammable," from phlogizein "to set on fire, burn," from phlox (gen. phlogos) "flame, blaze" (see bleach). Theory propounded by Stahl (1702), denied by Lavoisier (1775), defended by Priestley but generally abandoned by 1800.
syllable: late 14c., from Anglo-Fr. sillable, from O.Fr. sillabe, from L. syllaba, from Gk. syllabe "a syllable, several sounds or letters taken together," lit. "a taking together," from syn- "together" + stem of lambanein "to take" (see analemma). The extra -l- was added by analogy with participle and principle.
pluralism: 1818, as a term in church administration, from plural + -ism. Attested from 1882 as a term in philosophy for a theory which recognizes more than one ultimate principle. In political science, attested from 1919 (in Harold J. Laski) in sense "theory which opposes monolithic state power." General sense of "toleration of diversity within a society or state" is from 1933. Related: Pluralist; pluralistic.
psyche: 1640s, "animating spirit," from L. psyche, from Gk. psykhe "the soul, mind, spirit, breath, life, the invisible animating principle or entity which occupies and directs the physical body" (personified as Psykhe, the lover of Eros), akin to psykhein "to blow, cool," from PIE base *bhes- "to blow" (cf. Skt. bhas-). The word had extensive sense development in Platonic philosophy and Jewish-influenced theological writing of St. Paul. In English, psychological sense is from 1910.
induction: late 14c., from Fr. induction (14c.), from L. inductionem (nom. inductio), noun of action from inducere "to lead" (see induce). As a term in logic ( 1550s) is from Cicero's use of inductio to translate Gk. epagoge "leading to" in Aristotle; as a term of science, c.1800; military service sense is from 1934, Amer.Eng. Induction starts with known instances and arrives at generalizations; deduction starts from the general principle and arrives at some individual fact.
oxygen: gaseous chemical element, 1790, from Fr. oxygène, coined in 1777 by Fr. chemist Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794), from Gk. oxys "sharp, acid" (see acrid) + Fr. -gène "something that produces" (from Gk. -genes "formation, creation;" see -gen). Intended to mean "acidifying (principle)," from Fr. principe acidifiant. So called because oxygen was considered essential in the formation of acids. The element was isolated by Priestley (1774), who thought it an altered form of common air and called it dephlogisticated air.
staple (2): "principal article grown or made in a country or district," early 15c., "official market for some class of merchandise," from Anglo-Fr. (14c.), from O.Fr. estaple "market," from a Gmc. source akin to M.L.G. stapol, M.Du. stapel "market," from the same source as staple (1), the notion being of market stalls behind pillars of an arcade, or else of a raised platform where the king's deputies administered judgment. The sense of "principle article grown or made in a place" is 1610s, short for staple ware "wares and goods from a market" (early 15c.).
apostle: O.E. apostol "messenger," especially the 12 witnesses sent forth by Jesus to preach his Gospel, from L.L. apostolus, from Gk. apostolos "messenger, person sent forth," from apostellein "send away, send forth," from apo- "from" (see apo-) + stellein "to send" (see stet). Cf. epistle. The current form of the word, predominant since 16c., is influenced by O.Fr. apostle (12c.), from the same L.L. source. Figurative sense of "chief advocate of a new principle or system" is from 1810. Apostles, short for "The Acts and Epistles of the Apostles," is attested from c.1400.
rule (n.): early 13c., "principle or maxim governing conduct," from O.Fr. riule, from V.L. *regula, from L. regula "straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern," related to regere "to rule, straighten, guide" (see right). Replaced O.E. wealdan. Meaning "regulation governing play of a game, etc." is from 1690s. Phrase rule of thumb first attested 1690s. Rule of law "supremacy of impartial and well-defined laws to any individual's power" is from 1883. Meaning "Strip used for making straight lines" is recorded from mid-14c. Typography sense is attested from 1680s.
holocaust: mid-13c., "sacrifice by fire, burnt offering," from Gk. holokauston, neut. of holokaustos "burned whole," from holos "whole" (see safe (adj.)) + kaustos, verbal adj. of kaiein "to burn." Originally a Bible word for "burnt offerings," given wider sense of "massacre, destruction of a large number of persons" from 1833. The Holocaust "Nazi genocide of European Jews in World War II," first recorded 1957, earlier known in Heb. as Shoah "catastrophe." The word itself was used in English in reference to Hitler's Jewish policies from 1942, but not as a proper name for them.
Auschwitz makes all too clear the principle that the human psyche can create meaning out of anything. [Robert Jay Lifton, "The Nazi Doctors"]
colonize: 1620s, "to settle with colonists," from stem of L. colonus "tiller of the soil, farmer" (see colony); in sense "to make another place into a national dependency" without regard for settlement there by 1790s (e.g. in reference to French activity in Egypt or British work in India), and probably directly from colony.
No principle ought ever to be tolerated or acted upon, that does not proceed on the basis of India being considered as the temporary residence of a great British Establishment, for the good government of the country, upon steady and uniform principles, and of a large British factory, for the beneficial management of its trade, upon rules applicable to the state and manners of the country. [Henry Dundas, Chairman of the East-India Company, letter, April 2, 1800]
Related: Colonized; colonizing.
anarchy: 1530s, from M.L. anarchia, from Gk. anarkhia "lack of a leader," noun of state from anarkhos "rulerless," from an- "without" + arkhos "leader" (see archon). Anarch (n.) "leader of leaderlessness," a deliciously paradoxical word, was used by Milton, Pope, Byron. Anarcho-syndicalism is first recorded 1913.
Either the State for ever, crushing individual and local life, taking over in all fields of human activity, bringing with it its wars and its domestic struggles for power, its palace revolutions which only replace one tyrant by another, and inevitably at the end of this development there is ... death! Or the destruction of States, and new life starting again in thousands of centers on the principle of the lively initiative of the individual and groups and that of free agreement. The choice lies with you! [Prince Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921)]
tenet: "principle," properly "a thing held (to be true)," early 15c., from L. tenet "he holds," third person singular present indicative of tenere "to hold, to keep, to maintain" from PIE base *ten- "to stretch" (cf. Skt. tantram "loom," tanoti "stretches, lasts;" Pers. tar "string;" Lith. tankus "compact," i.e. "tightened;" Gk. teinein "to stretch," tasis "a stretching, tension," tenos "sinew," tetanos "stiff, rigid," tonos "string," hence "sound, pitch;" L. tendere "to stretch," tenuis "thin, rare, fine;" O.C.S. tento "cord;" O.E. thynne "thin"). Connection notion between "stretch" and "hold" is "to cause to maintain." The modern sense is probably because tenet was used in M.L. to introduce a statement of doctrine.
demon: late 14c., from L. daemon "spirit," from Gk. daimon "deity, divine power; lesser god; guiding spirit, tutelary deity" (sometimes including souls of the dead); "one's genius, lot, or fortune;" from PIE *dai-mon- "divider, provider" (of fortunes or destinies), from base *da- "to divide" (see tide). Used (with daimonion) in Christian Greek translations and Vulgate for "god of the heathen" and "unclean spirit." Jewish authors earlier had employed the Greek word in this sense, using it to render shedim "lords, idols" in the Septuagint, and Matt. viii.31 has daimones, translated as deofol in O.E., feend or deuil in Middle English. The original mythological sense is sometimes written daemon for purposes of distinction. The Demon of Socrates was a daimonion, a "divine principle or inward oracle." His accusers, and later the Church Fathers, however, represented this otherwise. The Demon Star (1895) is Algol.