Prince1, n.
n. [Fr. prince, Pr. prince, princi, princep, It. prince, prence, principe, Sp. & Pg. principe, from Lat. princeps, principis, the first, chief, from primus, first, and capere, to take, or caput, capitis, the head; Ger. prinz, D. & Sw. prins, Dan. prinds, prins.]
Sense 1. The one of highest rank; a person possessing highest place and authority; a sovereign; a monarch; — sometimes, but rarely, applied to a female sovereign.
Go, Michael, of celestial armies prince. Milton.
Queen Elizabeth, a prince admirable above her sex for her princely virtues. Camden.
Sense 2. The son of a king or emperor, or the issue of a royal family; as, princes of the blood. In England, the eldest son of the king is created prince of Wales.
Sense 3. A person of rank next to the sovereign, differing in different countries according to the relation in which he stands to the highest authority.