Prince, v. i. To play the
prince. [R.] Shak.
Prince (?), n. [F., from L.
princeps, -cipis, the first, chief; primus first
+ capere to take. See Prime, a., and
Capacious.] 1. The one of highest rank;
one holding the highest place and authority; a sovereign; a monarch; -
- originally applied to either sex, but now rarely applied to a
female. Wyclif (Rev. i. 5).
Go, Michael, of celestial armies
prince.
Milton.
Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her
sex.
Camden.
2. The son of a king or emperor, or the issue
of a royal family; as, princes of the blood.
Shak.
3. A title belonging to persons of high rank,
differing in different countries. In England it belongs to dukes,
marquises, and earls, but is given to members of the royal family
only. In Italy a prince is inferior to a duke as a member of a
particular order of nobility; in Spain he is always one of the royal
family.
4. The chief of any body of men; one at the
head of a class or profession; one who is preëminent; as, a
merchant prince; a prince of players. "The
prince of learning." Peacham.
Prince-Albert coat, a long double-breasted
frock coat for men. -- Prince of the blood,
Prince consort, Prince of
darkness. See under Blood, Consort, and
Darkness. -- Prince of Wales, the
oldest son of the English sovereign. -- Prince's
feather (Bot.), a name given to two annual herbs
(Amarantus caudatus and Polygonum orientale), with
apetalous reddish flowers arranged in long recurved panicled
spikes. -- Prince's metal, Prince
Rupert's metal. See under Metal. Prince's
pine. (Bot.) See Pipsissewa.