Skip to the word

Added 8 October 2026

emperor

/ˈɛmp(ə)ɹə/ noun

In Latin: imperātor, autocratōr, basileus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about emperor at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The male ruler of an empire.
Red table grape of California.
Large moth of temperate forests of Eurasia having heavily scaled transparent wings.

Origin

From Middle English emperour, from Anglo-Norman emperour, from Latin imperātorem, derived from imperō (“to command”). Doublet of imperator. Displaced earlier Old English casere, from Latin Caesar.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word