first principle

noun

any axiom, law, or abstraction assumed and regarded as representing the highest possible degree of generalization.

Nearby words

first peoples, first person, first point of aries, first position, first post, first principle, first quarter, first quartile, first reader, first reading, first refusal

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British Dictionary definitions for first principle

first principle

noun (usually plural)

one of the fundamental assumptions on which a particular theory or procedure is thought to be based

an axiom of a mathematical or scientific theory

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012