a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful sovereign or government: usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom, as the former British Empire, French Empire, Russian Empire, Byzantine Empire, or Roman Empire.
2.
a government under an emperor or empress.
3.
(often initial capital letter) the historical period during which a nation is under such a government: a history of the second French empire.
4.
supreme power in governing; imperial power; sovereignty: Austria's failure of empire in central Europe.
5.
supreme control; absolute sway: passion's empire over the mind.
6.
a powerful and important enterprise or holding of large scope that is controlled by a single person, family, or group of associates: The family's shipping empire was founded 50 years ago.
7.
(initial capital letter) a variety of apple somewhat resembling the McIntosh.
–adjective
8.
(initial capital letter) characteristic of or developed during the first French Empire, 1804–15.
9.
(usually initial capital letter) (of women's attire and coiffures) of the style that prevailed during the first French Empire, in clothing being characterized esp. by décolletage and a high waistline, coming just below the bust, from which the skirt hangs straight and loose.
10.
(often initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to the style of architecture, furnishings, and decoration prevailing in France and imitated to a greater or lesser extent in various other countries, c1800–30: characterized by the use of delicate but elaborate ornamentation imitated from Greek and Roman examples or containing classical allusions, as animal forms for the legs of furniture, bas-reliefs of classical figures, motifs of wreaths, torches, caryatids, lyres, and urns and by the occasional use of military and Egyptian motifs and, under the Napoleonic Empire itself, of symbols alluding to Napoleon I, as bees or the letter N.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME < AF, OF < L imperium; see empery]
A political unit having an extensive territory or comprising a number of territories or nations and ruled by a single supreme authority.
The territory included in such a unit.
An extensive enterprise under a unified authority: a publishing empire.
Imperial or imperialistic sovereignty, domination, or control: "There is a growing sense that the course of empire is shifting toward the . . . Asians"(James Traub).
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin imperium, from imperāre, to command; see emperor.]
Em·pire 1Audio Help (ŏm-pîr', ěm'pīr') Pronunciation Key
adj.
Of, relating to, or characteristic of a neoclassic style, as in clothing or the decorative arts, prevalent in France during the first part of the 19th century.
1297, from O.Fr. empire "imperial rule," from L. imperium "rule, command," from imperare "to command," from im- "in" + parare "to order, prepare" (see pare). The Empire, meaning "the British Empire," first recorded 1772 (it officially devolved into "The Commonwealth" in 1931). Empire style (esp. in ref. to a style of dresses with high waistlines) is 1869, from the Second Empire "rule of Napoleon III of France" (1852-70). New York has been called the Empire State since 1834.
empiregames Any of a family of military simulations derived from a game written by Peter Langston many years ago. Five or six multi-player variants of varying degrees of sophistication exist, and one single-player version implemented for both Unix and VMS; the latter is even available as MS-DOSfreeware. All are notoriously addictive. [The Jargon File] (1995-08-06)
n. Any of a family of military simulations derived from a game written by Peter Langston many years ago. A number of multi-player variants of varying degrees of sophistication exist, and one single-player version implemented for both Unix and VMS; the latter is even available as MS-DOS freeware. All are notoriously addictive. Of various commercial derivatives the best known is probably "Empire Deluxe" on PCs and Amigas.
Modern empire is a real-time wargame played over the internet by up to 120 players. Typical games last from 24 hours (blitz) to a couple of months (long term). The amount of sleep you can get while playing is a function of the rate at which updates occur and the number of co-rulers of your country. Empire server software is available for unix-like machines, and clients for Unix and other platforms. A comprehensive history of the game is available at `http://empire.idlpaper.com/infopages/History.html'. The Empire resource site is at `http://empire.idlpaper.com/'.
Empire City, OK (town, FIPS 23900) Location: 34.46483 N, 98.04303 W Population (1990): 219 (88 housing units) Area: 8.7 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Empire, AL Zip code(s): 35063
Empire, MI (village, FIPS 25980) Location: 44.81317 N, 86.05894 W Population (1990): 355 (244 housing units) Area: 2.3 sq km (land), 0.2 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 49630
Empire, NV Zip code(s): 89405
Empire, CO (town, FIPS 24620) Location: 39.75970 N, 105.68260 W Population (1990): 401 (222 housing units) Area: 0.7 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Empire, LA (CDP, FIPS 23725) Location: 29.41189 N, 89.61061 W Population (1990): 2654 (979 housing units) Area: 13.8 sq km (land), 6.1 sq km (water)
Empire, OH (village, FIPS 25368) Location: 40.51096 N, 80.62502 W Population (1990): 364 (147 housing units) Area: 0.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Em"per*y\, n. [L. imperium, influenced by OF. emperie, empire. See Empire.] Empire; sovereignty; dominion. [Archaic] --Shak. Struggling for my woman's empery. --Mrs. Browning.
Em"pire\, n. [F., fr. L. imperium a command, sovereignty, dominion, empire, fr. imperare. See Emperor; cf. Imperial.]1. Supreme power; sovereignty; sway; dominion. "The empire of the sea." --Shak. Over hell extend His empire, and with iron scepter rule. --Milton. 2. The dominion of an emperor; the territory or countries under the jurisdiction and dominion of an emperor (rarely of a king), usually of greater extent than a kingdom, always comprising a variety in the nationality of, or the forms of administration in, constituent and subordinate portions; as, the Austrian empire. Empire carries with it the idea of a vast and complicated government. --C. J. Smith. 3. Any dominion; supreme control; governing influence; rule; sway; as, the empire of mind or of reason. "Under the empire of facts." --M. Arnold. Another force which, in the Middle Ages, shared with chivalry the empire over the minds of men. --A. W. Ward. Celestial empire. See under Celestial. Empire City, a common designation of the city of New York. Empire State, a common designation of the State of New York. Syn: Sway; dominion; rule; control; reign; sovereignty; government; kingdom; realm; state.
Im*per"a*tive\, a. [L. imperativus, fr. imperare to command; pref. im- in + parare to make ready, prepare: cf. F. imp['e]ratif. See Perade, and cf. Empire.]1. Expressive of command; containing positive command; authoritatively or absolutely directive; commanding; authoritative; as, imperative orders. The suit of kings are imperative. --Bp. Hall. 2. Not to be avoided or evaded; obligatory; binding; compulsory; as, an imperative duty or order. 3. (Gram.) Expressive of commund, entreaty, advice, or exhortation; as, the imperative mood.
Im*pe"ri*al\, a. [OE. emperial, OF. emperial, F. imp['e]rial, fr. L. imperialis, fr. imperium command, sovereignty, empire. See Empire.]1. Of or pertaining to an empire, or to an emperor; as, an imperial government; imperial authority or edict. The last That wore the imperial diadem of Rome. --Shak. 2. Belonging to, or suitable to, supreme authority, or one who wields it; royal; sovereign; supreme. "The imperial democracy of Athens." --Mitford. Who, as Ulysses says, opinion crowns With an imperial voice. --Shak. To tame the proud, the fetter'd slave to free, These are imperial arts, and worthy thee. --Dryden. He sounds his imperial clarion along the whole line of battle. --E. Everett. 3. Of superior or unusual size or excellence; as, imperial paper; imperial tea, etc. Imperial bushel, gallon, etc. See Bushel, Gallon, etc. Imperial chamber, the, the sovereign court of the old German empire. Imperial city, under the first German empire, a city having no head but the emperor. Imperial diet, an assembly of all the states of the German empire. Imperial drill. (Manuf.) See under 8th Drill. Imperial eagle. (Zo["o]l.) See Eagle. Imperial green. See Paris green, under Green. Imperial guard, the royal guard instituted by Napoleon I. Imperial weights and measures, the standards legalized by the British Parliament.
Im*pe"ri*um\, n.; pl. Imperia. [L. See Empire.]1. Supreme power; absolute dominion; empire. 2. (Law) The right to command, which includes the right to employ the force of the state to enforce the laws. It is one of the principal attributes of the executive power.
Pare\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pared; p. pr. & vb. n. Paring.] [F. parer to pare, as a horse's hoofs, to dress or curry, as, leather, to clear, as anchors or cables, to parry, ward off, fr. L. parare to prepare. Cf. Empire, Parade, Pardon, Parry, Prepare.]1. To cut off, or shave off, the superficial substance or extremities of; as, to pare an apple; to pare a horse's hoof. 2. To remove; to separate; to cut or shave, as the skin, ring, or outside part, from anything; -- followed by off or away; as; to pare off the ring of fruit; to pare away redundancies. 3. Fig.: To diminish the bulk of; to reduce; to lessen. The king began to pare a little the privilege of clergy. --Bacon.
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