different between principle vs persuasion

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.

English

Alternative forms

• perswasion (obsolete)

Etymology

From French persuasion and its source, Latin persu?si?, from persu?d?re, from su?d?re (“to advise, recommend”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /p??swe??(?)n/
• (US) IPA^(key): /p??swe???n/

Noun

persuasion (countable and uncountable, plural persuasions)

1. The act of persuading, or trying to do so; the addressing of arguments to someone with the intention of changing their mind or convincing them of a certain point of view, course of action etc. [from 14th c.]
   • 2006, Rachel Morris, "Borderline Catastrophe", Washington Monthly, vol. 38:10:

     With the base unleashed, the White House was unable to broker a compromise, either by persuasion or by pressure.

2. An argument or other statement intended to influence one's opinions or beliefs; a way of persuading someone. [from 14th c.]
   • 1928, "The New Pictures", Time, 13 Feb 1928:

     Sadie curses, weeps, then, infected by Mr. Hamilton's writhing persuasions, prays and becomes penitent.

3. A strongly held conviction, opinion or belief. [from 16th c.]

   It is his persuasion that abortion should never be condoned.

   • 2010, "We don't need gay stereotypes", The Guardian, 6 Feb 2010:

     Social understanding and equality can neither be nurtured through fear, nor intimidation. Surely this goes for people of all sexual persuasions.

4. One's ability or power to influence someone's opinions or feelings; persuasiveness. [from 16th c.]
5. A specified religious adherence, a creed; any school of thought or ideology. [from 17th c.]
   • 2009, US Catholic (letter), May 2009:

     As a convert from the Baptist persuasion more than 40 years ago, I still feel like an outsider in the church despite the kindness and acceptance of Catholic friends.

6. (by extension, often humorous) Another personal, animal or inanimate trait that is not (very) liable to be changed by persuasion, such as sex, gender, ethnicity, origin, profession or nature.
   • 1871 February 14, J.J., "More Solution", Latter-Day Saints Millennial Star, page 105.

   • 1919, Pere Marquette Magazine, Vol. 11, page 19.

   • 1967, Taxes. The Tax Magazine, vol. 45, issue 2, page 698.

   • 1984, The Medical Journal of Australia, page 739.

   • 2015, Leslie Kelly, No More Bad Girls, in New Year's Resolution: Romance!: Say Yes\No More Bad Girls\Just a Fling, Harlequin, page 125.

Antonyms

• dissuasion

Derived terms

• persuade
• persuasive
• suasion

Translations

French

Etymology

From Latin persuasio, from persuadere, from suadere (“to advise, recommend”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p??.s?a.zj??/

Noun

persuasion f (plural persuasions)

1. persuasion

Further reading

• “persuasion” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).