Editing Princeps (section)

{{short description|Ancient Roman title}}
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{{for|the star|Delta Boötis}}
'''''Princeps''''' (plural: ''Principes'') is a [[Latin]] word meaning "first in time or order; the first, foremost,<ref name="Cassell">{{Cite book|title=Cassell's Latin Dictionary, Latin-English, English-Latin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ml_UAwAAQBAJ|first=D.P.|last=Simpson|publisher=[[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell Publishers Limited]] |location=London|year=1968|page=713|isbn=9780826453785}}</ref> chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first person".<ref name="Lewis">{{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=princeps1|title=princeps, cĭpis, adj.|work=A Latin Dictionary|author=Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short|year=1897|access-date=2009-04-21}}</ref> As a title, ''Princeps'' originated in the [[Roman Republic]] wherein the leading member of the Senate was designated ''princeps senatus''.<ref name=EB/> It is primarily associated with the Roman emperors as an unofficial title first adopted by [[Augustus]] ({{Reign|27 BC|AD 14}}) in 27 BC. Its use in this context continued until the regime of [[Diocletian]] (r. 284 – 305 AD) at the end of the third century. He preferred the title of ''dominus'', meaning "lord" or "master".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stern |first1=H. |title=Remarks on the "Adoratio" under Diocletian |journal=Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes |date=1 January 1954 |volume=17 |issue=1-2 |pages=184–189 |doi=10.2307/750138}}</ref> As a result, the Roman Empire from Augustus to Diocletian is termed the "[[principate]]" (''principatus''). Other historians define the reign of Augustus to [[Severus Alexander]] (r. 222 – 235) as the Principate, and the period afterwards as the "Autocracy".<ref>''A History of Rome to A.D. 565'', rev. 6th ed., Sinnigen & Boak, PanMacMillan, ç1975</ref>

The [[medieval]] title [[Prince#Prince_as_generic_for_ruler|"Prince" is a derivative of]] princeps, as is the title [[Principal (disambiguation)#Title or rank|Principal]].<ref name=EB>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/princeps Encyclopædia Britannica – Princeps]</ref>