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princeling

nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,244 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: princelings

A princeling is a young or minor prince. A minor princeling, warring princelings, some princeling or other.

The -ling ending makes it dismissive rather than merely small — a princeling rules little and matters less. In modern Chinese politics the princelings are the children of senior party figures, and there the word is a pointed criticism about inherited advantage.

Officia do Palácio do Planalto · CC BY 2.0

Definitions of princeling

  1. 1nounprincelingA young or minor prince.C2

    “The princeling ruled a tiny state with only a handful of villages.”

princeling is a ruler.

Where it comes from

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *keh₂p-

  2. Latin

    prīnceps — first head

  3. Anglo-Norman

    prince

  4. Middle English

    prince

  5. English

    prince

  6. English, today

    princeling

From prince + -ling. prince comes from Middle English prince, from Anglo-Norman prince, from Latin prīnceps (“first head”), from prīmus + capiō. Cognate with Old English fruma (“prince, ruler”). a doublet of princeps and principe. Displaced native atheling, from æþeling; kinebarn, from cynebearn; alder, from ealdor; and drighten, from dryhten.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Myths & Legends, Fairy Tales & Folklore

Practise this word

princeling in the wild

  • The more aggressive of the princelings have amassed fortunes of hundreds of millions of dollars.

    Princelings

  • During the Xi era, the number of princelings in the Central Committee, the Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee fell to record lows.

    Princelings

  • Vegetia ducalis, the ducal princeling, is a species of moth in the family Saturniidae.

    Vegetia ducalis

  • As a son of Marshal Chen Yi, he was one of China's most prominent princelings, or children of high officials.

    Chen Xiaolu

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the prince family

prince

princeling — used about once every 41,009 pages · #14,244 · point at the bar for the others

  • princess