emperor
Americannoun
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the male sovereign or supreme ruler of an empire.
the emperors of Rome.
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Chiefly British. a size of drawing or writing paper, 48 × 72 inches (122 × 183 centimeters).
noun
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a monarch who rules or reigns over an empire
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Also called: emperor moth. any of several large saturniid moths with eyelike markings on each wing, esp Saturnia pavonia of Europe See also giant peacock moth
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See purple emperor
Other Word Forms
- emperorship noun
- preemperor noun
Etymology
Origin of emperor
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English empero(u)r, (from Anglo-French; Old French empereor, from Latin imperātor, originally, “one who gives orders, ruler,” equivalent to imperā(re) “to order, command” ( im- “in” + -perāre, combining form of parāre “to provide, get ready” ) + -tor noun suffix of agency; see im- 1, prepare, -tor
Compare meaning
How does emperor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Forget prime ministers, presidents or even kings or queens: an emperor was the biggest, baddest ruler of them all — the leader of undisputed power who controlled a nation or, more usually, a number of subjugated nations known collectively as an empire. Nowadays the emperor is no more, replaced by humbler and usually more democratic leaders, but the notion of an all-conquering larger-than-life figure lives on in the way we give the prefix emperor to particularly magnificent specimens of living things: the Emperor Butterfly, Emperor Moth and Emperor Penguin, most famously. The Roman emperors would be proud.
Vocabulary lists containing emperor
Ancient Rome - Introductory
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Aztec, Maya, and Inca Empires - Introductory
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"The Lotus Seed"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Unmentioned, the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great, still revered by Iranians, was the first world leader to grant freedom to the Jews, liberating them from captivity in Babylon.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
In 2023, a hat belonging to Napoleon when he was French emperor sold for a record of nearly two million euros.
From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026
Species NWT has helped recover in Norfolk include crane, bittern, purple emperor butterfly and natterjack toad.
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026
Theodosius was the Christian Roman emperor who embraced the Nicene Creed as the religion of empire in the late fourth century, conducting a single-minded suppression of paganism in the lands over which he ruled.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
He had a face like a cartoon, or a massive stone head, or a Roman emperor who’d eaten too many pastries.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
