Where does “empress” come from?

Empress comes from Middle English emperice, from Old French empereriz, from Latin imperatrix, the feminine form of imperator meaning "commander" or "ruler."

empress (English): The female monarch of an empire; The wife or...

Definitions

The female monarch of an empire; The wife or...

Ancestry of “empress”, step by step

empress traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English emperice

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Middle English	emperice	An empress; a female ruler of an empire; The wife...
2	Old French	empereriz	empress
3	Latin	imperātrīx	A female ruler of an empire, empress
4	Latin	imperō	to command, give orders to, impose, demand
5	Latin	im-	Alternative form of in-; form of "in"; in
6	Latin	īn-	un-, non-, not
7	Latin	în	in, at, on, upon, from (space)
8	Latin	en	lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
9	Proto-Italic	en	in
10	Proto-Indo-European	h₁én	in

via Middle English emperesse

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Middle English	emperesse	Alternative form of emperice

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →Every word from Latin īn- →Every word from Proto-Italic en →