1. The amount borrowed or the amount still owed on a loan, separate from interest. 

2. The original amount invested, separate from earnings.

3. The face value of a bond.

4. The owner of a private company.

5. The main party to a transaction, acting as either a buyer or seller for his/her own account and risk. 




|||Be sure to take into account the context in which this term is used, as the exact meaning of the term has many variations. 

Also referred to as "corpus".