príncipe

Príncipe, with accent on the i, is the Spanish and Portuguese word for prince. It derives from Latin princeps via Old French prince. The term denotes a male member of a royal or noble family who holds a princely title, typically the heir to a throne or the sovereign ruler of a principality. In many historical monarchies, the status and prerogatives of a prince varied according to local law, dynastic custom, and the constitution of the realm. In constitutional or ceremonial monarchies, a prince may perform official duties without governing authority; in princely or feudal states, a prince could exercise sovereign powers within a territory.

In contemporary usage, the title is most often associated with the heir apparent or a high-ranking member of a royal house. In Spain, for example, the heir apparent has long been styled Príncipe de Asturias; in Portugal, similar princely titles have been used in dynastic contexts. The feminine form is princesa; the plurals are príncipes for masculine and princesas for feminine, depending on gender.

The term also appears in literature and philosophy. The Italian work Il Principe by Niccolò Machiavelli is widely known in its Spanish rendering as El Príncipe and in English as The Prince, a foundational text in political theory.