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emperor

 - 3 dictionary results

em⋅per⋅or

  [em-per-er]
Use emperor in a Sentence
–noun
1. the male sovereign or supreme ruler of an empire: the emperors of Rome.
2. Chiefly British. a size of drawing or writing paper, 48 × 72 in. (122 × 183 cm).
Origin:
1175–1225; ME empero(u)r < AF; OF empereor < L imperātor orig., one who gives orders, ruler, equiv. to imperā(re) to order, command (im- im- 1 + -perāre, comb. form of parāre to provide, prepare ) + -tor -tor

Related forms:
em⋅per⋅or⋅ship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To emperor
em·per·or   (ěm'pər-ər)   
n.  

  1. The male ruler of an empire.

    1. The emperor butterfly.

    2. The emperor moth.


[Middle English emperour, from Old French empereor, from Latin imperātor, from imperāre, to command : in-, in; see en-1 + parāre, to prepare; see perə-1 in Indo-European roots.]
em'per·or·ship' n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

emperor 
c.1225, from O.Fr. empereor (acc.), from L. imperiatorem (nom. imperiator) "commander, emperor," from stem of imperare "to command" (see empire). Originally a title conferred by vote of the Roman army on a successful general, later by the Senate on Julius and Augustus Caesar and adopted by their successors except Tiberius and Claudius. In the Middle Ages, applied to rulers of China, Japan, etc.; only non-historical European application in Eng. was of the Holy Roman Emperors (who in Ger. documents are called kaiser), from 1297, until in 1804 Napoleon took the title "Emperor of the French." Empress is attested from 1154; Queen Victoria in 1876 became "Empress of India."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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