Hi,
Johnhors, you're right, but English is not the only language in the universe, and I know some extremely good engineers who know it only approximately, so please let's concentrate on the concept and not so much on terminology when all the context is clear... This said, of course this forum is anglo-saxon so everybody should make an effort to "speak" correctly...
The given definition is 100% correct, though perhaps it doesn't add so much to the topic. I feel this thread is now beginning to turn round and round in circles when, historically, different failure theories have been formulated for the simple reason that some are more appropriated for some materials, some for others.
And, from the given definition of "principal stress", IMHO it is obvious that "transverse stress" was written for "shear stress"...