Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Empress” come from?

Empress (English) comes from Middle English emperice, from Old French empereriz, from Latin imperātrīx, from Latin imperō, from Latin im-, from Latin īn-, from Latin în, from Latin en — in.

Ancestry of “Empress”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishempericeAn empress; a female ruler of an empire; The wife...
2Old Frenchempererizempress
3Latinimperātrīx—
4Latinimperō—
5Latinim-Alternative form of in-; form of "in"; in
6Latinīn-—
7Latinîn—
8Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
9Proto-Italicenin
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →