princess
[prin-sis, -ses, prin-ses]
- a nonreigning female member of a royal family.
- History/Historical. a female sovereign or monarch; queen.
- the consort of a prince.
- (in Great Britain) a daughter or granddaughter (if the child of a son) of a king or queen.
- a woman considered to have the qualities or characteristics of a princess.
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- Also prin·cesse. (of a woman's dress, coat, or the like) styled with a close-fitting bodice and flared skirt, cut in single pieces, as gores, from shoulder to hem.
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Origin of princess
Usage note
See -ess.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for princesses
Contemporary Examples
Really Big Coloring Books has also published titles such as Superheroes of the Bible and Fairies & Princesses.
And one daughter said “princesses” and the other said “bride.”
Cary Elwes, aka Westley, Shares Inconceivable Tales From the Making of ‘The Princess Bride’Marlow Stern
September 17, 2014
William and Harry, and Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice—plus Elvis!
There was a lot of trench warfare between the Princesses Margaret and Michael, too.
Instead, the Princesses are deliberately, explicitly Jewish.
Historical Examples
Queens and princesses were considered equal with their husbands.
It Happened in EgyptC. N. Williamson
Werner was with the princesses at the time, and told me that the effect of the scene was most dramatic.
A Hero of Our TimeM. Y. Lermontov
Only the Princesses of the blood and the royal family were admitted to it.
The Memoirs of Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency, CompleteDuc de Saint-Simon
Instinct, and some knowledge of the habits of princesses, triumphed; for (indeed) there She was!
The Golden AgeKenneth Grahame
Moreover, she hoped to see something more of her cousins the princesses.
Two Penniless PrincessesCharlotte M. Yonge
princess
- (in Britain) a daughter of the sovereign or of one of the sovereign's sons
- a nonreigning female member of a sovereign family
- the wife and consort of a prince
- any very attractive or outstanding woman
- Also called: princess dress, princess line a style of dress with a fitted bodice and an A-line skirt that is shaped by seams from shoulder to hem without a seam at the waistline
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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
Word Origin and History for princesses
princess
n.
late 14c., "woman of royal or noble birth; daughter or wife of a ruler or prince; female ruler," a native formation, or else from Old French princesse, fem. of prince (see prince). Cf. Medieval Latin principissa, Italian principessa. As a colloquial form of address to a woman or girl, it is recorded from 1924 (as a term of address to a lover, early 15c.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper