emperor

em-per-or · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    A male sovereign or supreme ruler of an empire.

  2. 2.

    A title of honor or distinction in various contexts.

Forms

plural: emperors

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    emperor's new clothes — an expression describing a situation where people pretend something is true when it obviously is not
  • •
    Holy Roman Emperor — the historical title of rulers of the Holy Roman Empire
  • •
    emperor penguin — the largest penguin species, native to Antarctica

Related words

Antonyms: commoner, subject
See also: empire, empress, king, monarch
Synonyms: monarch, ruler, sovereign

Etymology

From Old French empereor, from Latin imperator ("commander, emperor"), from imperare ("to command"). First used in English in the 13th century.