Etymology Explorer › English

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

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

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

Words derived from “empress”

  • empressment
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →