principia
Fundamental starting points
Principia is the Latin plural of principium, meaning first principles or foundations.
The word appears almost exclusively in reference to Isaac Newton's *Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica* (1687), his foundational work on physics and mathematics.
In academic contexts, principia may refer to the fundamental axioms or starting points of any system of thought.
Principles governing physical dynamics
- universal gravitationMutual pull between masses
- calculusMathematical analysis system
- mechanicsScience of motion
- inertiaResistance to altered motion
optics · reflecting telescope · Royal Society · Cambridge · natural philosopher · absolute time · inverse square law · corpuscular theory
Original text before publication
- magnum opusCreator's supreme achievement
- volumeAmount of space filled
- publicationIssued written material
- scholarly workFormal academic writing
monograph · Latin text · mathematical proofs · definitions · corollaries · lemmas · propositions · natural philosophy
Foundational building block
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- basisUnderlying support or principle
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
- axiomsAccepted starting principles
postulates · fundamentals · underpinning · framework · keystone · starting point · elementary · rudiments
Historical term for science
- rationalismReason as knowledge source
- empiricismKnowledge through observation
- a prioriIndependent of experience
- deductionConclusion from premises
universal laws · determinism · scientific method · epistemology · certainty · logical structure
Era prioritizing reason over dogma
- scientific revolutionTransformative change in understanding
- classical mechanicsLaws governing macroscopic motion
- modern physicsScience of subatomic and relativistic phenomena
- astronomyScience of celestial objects
celestial navigation · engineering · Laplace · Euler · d'Alembert · Voltaire · French translation · paradigm shift
laws of motion
Principles governing physical dynamics
- universal gravitationMutual pull between masses
- calculusMathematical analysis system
- mechanicsScience of motion
inertia · optics · reflecting telescope · Royal Society · Cambridge · natural philosopher · absolute time · inverse square law · corpuscular theory · alchemy
manuscript
Original text before publication
- magnum opusCreator's supreme achievement
- volumeAmount of space filled
- publicationIssued written material
scholarly work · monograph · Latin text · mathematical proofs · definitions · corollaries · lemmas · propositions · natural philosophy · academic work
cornerstone
Foundational building block
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- basisUnderlying support or principle
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
axioms · postulates · fundamentals · underpinning · framework · keystone · starting point · elementary · rudiments · building blocks
natural philosophy
Historical term for science
- rationalismReason as knowledge source
- empiricismKnowledge through observation
- a prioriIndependent of experience
deduction · universal laws · determinism · scientific method · epistemology · certainty · logical structure
Enlightenment
Era prioritizing reason over dogma
- scientific revolutionTransformative change in understanding
- classical mechanicsLaws governing macroscopic motion
- modern physicsScience of subatomic and relativistic phenomena
astronomy · celestial navigation · engineering · Laplace · Euler · d'Alembert · Voltaire · French translation · paradigm shift · intellectual legacy
- Roman fortsfort, fortress, frontier fort, military camp, stone fort
principiaconclusions
Judgments reached through reasoning
corollaries · consequences · deductions · inferences · theorems
principiaderivatives
Things derived from another
superstructure · applications · particulars · elaborations · extensions
principiamarginalia
Notes in page edges
peripherals · trivia · minutiae · incidentals · accidentals
- school principalChief administrator of school
- in principleAbstractly true, practically uncertain
- vice principalSchool administrator's deputy
- first principlesBasic truths underlying reasoning
- principal's officeSchool leader's workspace
- principal characterStory's central figure
principal, principle, principles, unprincipled, principally, principality, principalities, principalship