Emperour

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A monarch who holds the highest rank and rules over a large empire or group of territories
2. The sovereign leader of an empire, often ruling over many kingdoms, nations, or peoples
3. Someone who wields supreme imperial authority over a vast realm and the peoples within it

Etymology: "Emperour" is an older spelling of "emperor," used in Middle English and now obsolete. The word came into English from Anglo-Norman "emperour," which took it from Latin "imperatorem," the accusative form of "imperator," meaning a commander. That Latin word derives from "imperare," "to command," so at root an emperor was simply the one who gives orders. English already had a word for this office before the French version arrived. Old English "casere" came from Latin "Caesar," the family name of Julius Caesar, which had become a title for Roman rulers. The Anglo-Norman "emperour" displaced it, so "casere" faded out of use while the term rooted in "command" took over. The two words are doublets: "emperor" and "imperator" share a source but reached English by different routes, one through French and one as a direct Latin borrowing.