Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Principle \Prin"ci*ple\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Principled}; p.
   pr. & vb. n. {Principling}.]
   To equip with principles; to establish, or fix, in certain
   principles; to impress with any tenet, or rule of conduct,
   good or ill.

         Governors should be well principled.     --L'Estrange.

         Let an enthusiast be principled that he or his teacher
         is inspired.                             --Locke.

Principle \Prin"ci*ple\, n. [F. principe, L. principium
   beginning, foundation, fr. princeps, -cipis. See {Prince}.]
   1. Beginning; commencement. [Obs.]

            Doubting sad end of principle unsound. --Spenser.

   2. A source, or origin; that from which anything proceeds;
      fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance;
      ultimate element, or cause.

Source : WordNet®

principle
     n 1: a basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can
          be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct; "their
          principles of composition characterized all their works"
          [syn: {rule}]
     2: a rule or standard especially of good behavior; "a man of
        principle"; "he will not violate his principles"
     3: a basic truth or law or assumption; "the principles of
        democracy"
     4: a rule or law concerning a natural phenomenon or the
        function of a complex system; "the principle of the
        conservation of mass"; "the principle of jet propulsion";
        "the right-hand rule for inductive fields" [syn: {rule}]
     5: rule of personal conduct [syn: {precept}]
     6: (law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially
        an explanation of the working of some device in terms of
        laws of nature); "the rationale for capital punishment";
        "the principles of internal-combustion engines" [syn: {rationale}]