Empire Definition

ĕmpīr
noun
Supreme rule; absolute power or authority; dominion.
Webster's New World
The territory included in such a unit.
American Heritage
Government by an emperor or empress.
Webster's New World
The period during which such government prevails.
Webster's New World
A state uniting many territories and peoples under a single sovereign power.
Webster's New World
adjective
Of, relating to, or characteristic of a neoclassic style, as in clothing or the decorative arts, prevalent in France during the early 1800s.
American Heritage
Of or characteristic of the first French Empire (1804-15) under Napoleon.
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Empire

Noun

Singular:
empire
Plural:
empires

Origin of Empire

  • From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, order”).

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English from Old French from Latin imperium from imperāre to command emperor

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • After the Empire State, nickname for the state of New York, where it was developed

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • After the First Empire of France (1804–1815)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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