PRINCEPS, in polity, a person invested with the supreme command of a state, independent of any superior.

Prince also denotes a person who is a sovereign in his own territories, yet holds of some other as his superior; such are the princes of Germany, who, though absolute in their respective principalities, are bound to the emperor in certain services.

Prince also denotes the issue of princes, or those of the royal family. In France, before the revolution, they were called princes of the blood, and during the short continuance of the constitution of 1791, French princes. In England the king's children are called sons and daughters of England; the eldest son is created prince of Wales; the cadets are created dukes or earls as the king pleases; and the title of all the children is royal highnesses: all subjects are to kneel when admitted to kiss their hand, and at table out of the king's presence they are served on the knee. See Royal Family.

PRINCE of the Senate, in old Rome, the person who was called over first in the roll of senators, whenever it was renewed by the censors: he was always of consular and censorial dignity. See the article Senate.

PRINCE'S Metal, or Pinchbeck, an alloy of copper and zinc, which has a resemblance to gold. See Chemistry, No 2014.