The difference between Dean and Principal

When used as nouns, dean means a senior official in a college or university, who may be in charge of a division or faculty (for example, the dean of science) or have some other advisory or disciplinary function (for example, the dean of students), whereas principal means the money originally invested or loaned, on which basis interest and returns are calculated.

Dean is also verb with the meaning: to serve as a dean.

Principal is also adjective with the meaning: primary.

check bellow for the other definitions of Dean and Principal

  1. Dean as a noun:

    A senior official in a college or university, who may be in charge of a division or faculty (for example, the dean of science) or have some other advisory or disciplinary function (for example, the dean of students).

  2. Dean as a noun:

    A dignitary or presiding officer in certain church bodies, especially an ecclesiastical dignitary, subordinate to a bishop, in charge of a chapter of canons.

  3. Dean as a noun:

    The senior member of some group of people.

    Examples:

    "dean of the diplomatic corps'' - a country's most senior [[ambassador]]"

    "dean of the House'' - the longest-serving member of a [[legislature]]"

  1. Dean as a verb (intransitive, rare):

    To serve as a dean.

  2. Dean as a verb (transitive, rare, informal):

    To send (a student) to see the dean of a university.

  1. Dean as a noun (Sussex, chiefly in place names):

    A hill.

  1. Principal as an adjective:

    Primary; most important.

    Examples:

    "Smith is the principal architect of this design."

    "The principal cause of the failure was poor planning."

  2. Principal as an adjective (obsolete, Latinism):

    Of or relating to a prince; princely.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Edmund Spenser"

  1. Principal as a noun (finance, uncountable):

    The money originally invested or loaned, on which basis interest and returns are calculated.

    Examples:

    "A portion of your mortgage payment goes to reduce the principal, and the rest covers interest."

  2. Principal as a noun (North America, Australia, New Zealand):

    The chief administrator of a school.

  3. Principal as a noun (UK, Canada):

    The chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college.

  4. Principal as a noun (legal):

    A legal person that authorizes another (the agent) to act on one′s behalf; or on whose behalf an agent or gestor in a negotiorum gestio acts.

    Examples:

    "When an attorney represents a client, the client is the principal who permits the attorney, the client′s agent, to act on the client′s behalf."

    "My principal sells metal shims."

  5. Principal as a noun (legal):

    The primary participant in a crime.

  6. Principal as a noun (North America):

    A partner or owner of a business.

  7. Principal as a noun (music):

    A diapason, a type of organ stop on a pipe organ.

  8. Principal as a noun (architecture, engineering):

    The construction that gives shape and strength to a roof, generally a truss of timber or iron; or, loosely, the most important member of a piece of framing.

  9. Principal as a noun:

    The first two long feathers of a hawk's wing.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Spenser"

    "rfquotek J. H. Walsh"

  10. Principal as a noun:

    One of the turrets or pinnacles of waxwork and tapers with which the posts and centre of a funeral hearse were formerly crowned.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Oxf. Gloss."

  11. Principal as a noun (obsolete):

    An essential point or rule; a principle.

  12. Principal as a noun:

    A dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company.

  13. Principal as a noun (computing):

    A security principal.

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