# princess

Pronunciation: US say "PRIN-ses" /ˈpɹɪnsɛs/; UK say "prin-SES" /pɹɪnˈsɛs/

## Noun

1. A woman or girl of a royal house other than the queen, typically a monarch's daughter or granddaughter.
   - Simple: A king or queen's daughter, or another woman in a royal family who is not the queen.
   - _The princess opened the new hospital wing on her father's behalf._
   - _Each princess in the royal household carries out her own ceremonial duties._
2. A young girl, used as an affectionate term of endearment.
   - Simple: A loving name a parent uses for a young girl.
   - _You did so well in the recital, princess, I'm proud of you._
   - _Hop in the car, princess, we're going to get ice cream._
3. A vain, spoiled, or selfish girl or woman (or, less often, a man); a prima donna. *(US)*
   - Simple: Someone who acts spoiled and selfish and expects to be treated as special.
   - _My brother is such a princess about his morning coffee routine._
   - _The new hire turned out to be a princess who expected everyone to wait on her._
4. A woman married to a prince, or a woman who governs a principality as its ruler.
   - Simple: The wife of a prince, or a woman who rules a small state.
   - _After the wedding, she was styled princess and took up residence at court._
   - _The principality has been governed by a princess since her father's abdication._
5. A woman or girl regarded as the outstanding figure in a particular field or group.
   - Simple: A girl or woman who is the best in a certain area or group.
   - _Within a decade she became the reigning princess of competitive figure skating._
   - _The young chef was hailed as the princess of the city's restaurant scene._
6. A court card in the Tarot pack, ranking between the ten and the prince (the Jack).
   - Simple: A picture card in a Tarot deck that ranks above the ten and below the prince.
   - _He turned over the princess of wands and paused to interpret it._
   - _Each suit in the deck includes a princess between the ten and the prince._
7. In fairy chess, a piece that can move either as a bishop or as a knight.
   - Simple: A made-up chess piece that can move like both a bishop and a knight.
   - _The composer placed a princess on e4, threatening mate from two directions at once._
   - _A princess controls the diagonals and can also leap like a knight, making it strong in the endgame._
8. A children's playing marble made of tinted crystal.
   - Simple: A colored glass marble used in children's games.
   - _The boy traded his best aggie for a glowing princess._
   - _A handful of princesses gleamed in the sunlight on the sidewalk._
9. An open-faced Bulgarian sandwich topped with ground meat and baked in the oven.
   - Simple: A Bulgarian baked open sandwich topped with ground meat.
   - _The bakery sells warm princesses topped with spiced ground meat._
   - _She ordered a princess with extra cheese at the corner cafe._
10. A female lemur.
   - Simple: A lemur that is female.
   - _The princess led the troop to the fruiting trees at dawn._
   - _In many lemur species, a princess outranks the males in the group._

## Noun

11. A woman who reigns over a realm as its monarch; a queen. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A queen, or a woman who rules a country.
   - _The aging princess summoned her lords to swear allegiance to the crown._
   - _Under the great princess, the realm enjoyed decades of peace._

## Origin

From Middle English "princesse", borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French "princesse"; by surface analysis it is "prince" plus the feminine suffix "-ess".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/princess (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).