different between aim vs principle

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e?m/
• Rhymes: -e?m

Etymology 1

From Middle English amen, aimen, eimen (“to guess at, to estimate, to aim”), borrowed from Old French esmer, aesmer, asmer, from Latin ad- plus aestimare (“to estimate”), the compound perhaps being originally formed in Medieval Latin (adaestimare), perhaps in Old French.

Noun

aim (plural aims)

1. The pointing of a weapon, as a gun, a dart, or an arrow, or object, in the line of direction with the object intended to be struck; the line of fire; the direction of anything, such as a spear, a blow, a discourse, a remark, towards a particular point or object, with a view to strike or affect it.

2. The point intended to be hit, or object intended to be attained or affected.
3. Intention or goal

   Synonyms: purpose, design, scheme

   • 1891, Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man Under Socialism

     There is no doubt at all that this is the future of machinery, and just as trees grow while the country gentleman is asleep, so while Humanity will be amusing itself, or enjoying cultivated leisure which, and not labour, is the aim of man - or making beautiful things, or reading beautiful things, or simply contemplating the world with admiration and delight, machinery will be doing all the necessary and unpleasant work.
4. The ability of someone to aim straight; one's faculty for being able to hit a physical target

5. (obsolete) Conjecture; guess.

Synonyms

• (intention): aspiration, design, end, ettle, intention, mint, object, purpose, scheme, scope, tendency; See also Thesaurus:goal or Thesaurus:intention

Derived terms

• aimless
• take aim

Translations

Verb

aim (third-person singular simple present aims, present participle aiming, simple past and past participle aimed)

1. (intransitive) To point or direct a missile, or a weapon which propels as missile, towards an object or spot with the intent of hitting it

2. (intransitive) To direct the intention or purpose; to attempt the accomplishment of a purpose; to try to gain; to endeavor;—followed by at, or by an infinitive
3. (transitive) To direct or point (e.g. a weapon), at a particular object; to direct, as a missile, an act, or a proceeding, at, to, or against an object

4. (transitive) To direct (something verbal) towards a certain person, thing, or group

5. (intransitive, obsolete) To guess or conjecture.

Usage notes

• Sense 2. This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

• aim at
• ready, aim, fire!

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

aim

1. Initialism of America Online. AIM; AOL Instant Messenger.

Further reading

• aim in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• aim in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• AMI, I am, I'm a, I'm a', I'm'a, I'm-a, I'ma, IAM, Ima, Ima', MAI, MIA, Mai, Mia, i'm'a, i'ma, ima, mai, mia

Estonian

Etymology

Of Finnic origin. Cognate to Finnish aimottaa.

Noun

aim (genitive aimu, partitive aimu)

1. sense, idea of something, feeling

   Pole aimugi.

   I have no idea.

Declension

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French principe, from Latin pr?ncipium (“beginning, foundation”), from pr?nceps (“first”); see prince.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p??ns?p?l/, /?p??ns?p?l/
• Hyphenation: prin?ci?ple
• Homophone: principal

Noun

principle (plural principles)

1. A fundamental assumption or guiding belief.

   • Let us consider ‘my dog is asleep on the floor’ again. Frege thinks that this sentence can be analyzed in various different ways. Instead of treating it as expressing the application of __ is asleep on the floor to my dog, we can think of it as expressing the application of the concept
          my dog is asleep on __
     to the object
          the floor
     (see Frege 1919). Frege recognizes what is now a commonplace in the logical analysis of natural language. We can attribute more than one logical form to a single sentence. Let us call this the principle of multiple analyses. Frege does not claim that the principle always holds, but as we shall see, modern type theory does claim this.

2. A rule used to choose among solutions to a problem.

3. (sometimes pluralized) Moral rule or aspect.

   I don't doubt your principles.

   You are clearly a person of principle.

   It's the principle of the thing; I won't do business with someone I can't trust.

4. (physics) A rule or law of nature, or the basic idea on how the laws of nature are applied.

   Bernoulli's Principle

   The Pauli Exclusion Principle prevents two fermions from occupying the same state.

   The principle of the internal combustion engine

5. A fundamental essence, particularly one producing a given quality.
   • 1845, William Gregory, Outlines of Chemistry

     Cathartine is the bitter, purgative principle of senna.

6. (obsolete) A beginning.
7. A source, or origin; that from which anything proceeds; fundamental substance or energy; primordial substance; ultimate element, or cause.
   • 1663, John Tillotson, The Wisdom of Being Religious

     The soul of man is an active principle.

8. An original faculty or endowment.
   • 1828, Dugal Stewart, The Philosophy of the Active and Moral Powers of Man

     those active principles whose direct and ultimate object is the communication either of enjoyment or suffering

Usage notes

• Principle ("moral rule"), as a noun, is often confused with principal, which can be an adjective ("most important") or a noun ("school principal"). A memory aid to avoid this confusion is: "The principal alphabetic principle places A before E".

Synonyms

• (moral rule or aspect): tenet

Derived terms

Related terms

• prince
• principal
• principality

Translations

Verb

principle (third-person singular simple present principles, present participle principling, simple past and past participle principled)

1. (transitive) To equip with principles; to establish, or fix, in certain principles; to impress with any tenet or rule of conduct.

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

Further reading

• principle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• principle in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.