Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
principle (noun)1.
a) a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption
b) (1) a rule or of conduct - code
(2) habitual devotion to right - principles a man of principle
c) the laws or facts of nature underlying the working of an artificial device
2.
a primary source - origin
3.
a) an underlying or - faculty endowment such principles of human nature as greed and curiosity
b) an ingredient (as a chemical) that exhibits or imparts a characteristic quality
4.
capitalized Christian Science a divine principle - god
