classic vs principal

classic

adj
  • Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. 

  • Exhibiting timeless quality and excellence. 

  • Exemplary of a particular style; defining a class/category; typical. 

  • Characteristic of or from the past; old; retro; vintage. 

  • Of or pertaining to the ancient Greeks and Romans, especially to Greek or Roman authors of the highest rank, or of the period when their best literature was produced; of or pertaining to places inhabited by the ancient Greeks and Romans, or rendered famous by their deeds. 

  • Traditional; original. 

noun
  • A perfect and/or early example of a particular style. 

  • The author of such a work. 

  • A major, long-standing sporting event. 

  • An artistic work of lasting worth, such as a film or song; a work of enduring excellence. 

  • Any of the British Classic Races, five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. 

principal

adj
  • Primary; most important; first level in importance. 

  • Chosen or assumed among a branch of possible values of a multi-valued function so that the function is single-valued. 

noun
  • The chief administrator of a school. 

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

  • 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. 

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

  • The primary participant in a crime. 

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

  • A security principal. 

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

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

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

  • A partner or owner of a business. 

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

How often have the words classic and principal occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )