first principles

English

Noun

first principles

1. plural of first principle

Noun

first principles pl (plural only)

1. The set of basic statements on which a method, theory, or organisation is founded.

   The rules and regulations don't answer the question. First principles are required.

   • [2025 June 2, Adrian Horton, “Tech-bro satire Mountainhead is an insufferable disappointment”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Mountainhead plays out less like a drama between four tenuously connected, very rich friends, and more like a random word generator of tech and finance bro jargon – decel (deceleration, as in AI), p(doom) (the probability of an AI apocalypse), first principles.]

See also

• axiom

Further reading

• First principle on Wikipedia.Wikipedia