principal

The Principal financial term refers to the original amount of a loan. The principal of a loan is gradually repaid during the life of the loan. The principal is used to calculate the interest charges on the loan, but it doesn’t include them.

For example if you get a car loan for $10,000 then your principal is $10,000. Of course you will have interest rate charges on top of this $10,000, but this doesn’t change the amount of the principal.