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The words emperor, caesar, czar, and Kaiser all go back to one source: the title of the first Roman emperor, Imperator Caesar Augustus. Augustus was the adopted son of the Roman general and ruler Julius Caesar and he took the name Caesar as part of his official name. Later Roman emperors did the same, and thus caesar came to mean “an emperor of Rome.” The word caesar was borrowed into German and other Germanic languages as Kaiser, which is how we get the word kaiser for “a ruler in Germany.” Through the Russian word tsar, which also came from kaiser, we got our word czar, meaning “a ruler in Russia.” The word emperor can be traced through French to Latin imperator. Imperator was a title given to great Roman generals and meant “commander,” from the verb imperare “to command.”
Examples of emperor in a Sentence
Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 4 Nov. 2024
The feathered headdress once worn by Aztec emperor Moctezuma II resides in Vienna.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
That didn’t stop Byzantine emperor Justinian I, aiming to restore his empire’s former glory, from acquiring silkworm eggs, via monks who smuggled them in bamboo rods.
—Emi Eleode, ARTnews.com, 30 Oct. 2024
The Agora of Smyrna founded in the 4th century B.C. and rebuilt by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius following an earthquake in 178 A.D. was the city’s political and commercial center and is one of the largest antiquities of that type still visible.
—Laurie Werner, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Emperor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/emperor. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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emperor
noun
Middle English emperour "emperor," from early French emperur (same meaning), from Latin imperator "commander" (title assumed by Caesar Augustus), from imperare "to command"
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