empire
English
Etymology
From Middle EnglishCategory:English terms inherited from Middle English#EMPIRECategory:English terms derived from Middle English#EMPIRE empire, from Old FrenchCategory:English terms derived from Old French#EMPIRE empire, empere, from LatinCategory:English terms derived from Latin#EMPIRE imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, order”). Doublet of empery and imperiumCategory:English doublets#EMPIRE.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ĕmʹpīə, ĕmʹpī-ə, IPA(key): /ˈɛm.paɪ̯ə̯/, /ˈɛm.paɪ̯.ə/Category:English 2-syllable words#EMPIRECategory:English 3-syllable words#EMPIRECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#EMPIRE
- (General American) enPR: ĕmʹpīr', ĕmʹpī'ər, IPA(key): /ˈɛmˌpaɪ̯ɹ/, /ˈɛmˌpaɪ̯ɚ/Category:English 2-syllable words#EMPIRECategory:English 3-syllable words#EMPIRECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#EMPIRE
Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#EMPIREAudio (General American): (file)
Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#EMPIREAudio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)Category:Rhymes:English/aɪə(ɹ)#EMPIRECategory:Rhymes:English/aɪə(ɹ)/2 syllables#EMPIRECategory:Rhymes:English/aɪə(ɹ)/3 syllables#EMPIRE
- Hyphenation: em‧pire
Noun
empire (plural empires)Category:English lemmas#EMPIRECategory:English nouns#EMPIRECategory:English countable nouns#EMPIRECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#EMPIRECategory:Pages with entries#EMPIRECategory:Pages with 7 entries#EMPIRE

- A political state, often a monarchy, that has achieved a much greater current size than its initial size by conquering surrounding territories, cities or nations.
- the Russian empireCategory:English terms with usage examples#EMPIRE
- 2022 February 7, Charles Hugh Smith, How Empires Die:
- States and empires fail when they are no longer the solution, they are the problem.Category:English terms with quotations#EMPIRE
- A political unit ruled by an emperor or empress.
- The Empire of Vietnam was a short-lived client state of Japan governing Vietnam between March 11 and August 23, 1945.Category:English terms with usage examples#EMPIRE
- The group of states or other territories that owe allegiance to an imperial power (foreign to them), when distinguished from the native territory of that power; imperial possessions.
- 2001 August 2, P. J. Marshall, The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 105:
- British people [...] continued to believe in empire. It was what gave Britain a unique role in the world, and in return Britain had drawn strength from its empire to enable it to survive two great wars that had wrecked so many of its competitors. Imperial management in the twentieth […]Category:English terms with quotations#EMPIRE
- 2021 April 13, Daniel Verdier, Democracy and International Trade: Britain, France, and the United States, 1860-1990, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 139:
- Since Britain imported mainly foodstuffs from its empire, no preferences could be granted to the colonies without Britain first imposing a tariff on foodstuffs imported from other countries.Category:English terms with quotations#EMPIRE
- An expansive and powerful enterprise under the control of one person or group.
- the McDonald's fast food empireCategory:English terms with usage examples#EMPIRE
- 2002, Evelyn L. Damore, The Rattle and Hiss of the Tin Gods, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 111:
- “Revenues for Jackson's non-profit empire sky-rocketed from $4 million in 1997, to more than $14 million just two years later.”Category:English terms with quotations#EMPIRE
- 2009, Martin Short, The Rise of the Mafia, Kings Road Publishing, →ISBN:
- The Mafia never forgave Castro but Lansky had already laid the foundations of a mob gambling empire all over the Caribbean […]Category:English terms with quotations#EMPIRE
- (Absolute) control, dominion, sway.
- 1781, Horace Walpole, The Mysterious Mother, Act 1 Scene 1:
- Each master whim maintains its hour of empire,Category:English terms with quotations#EMPIRE
And obstinately faithful to its dictates
- 1881, François Guizot, The History of Civilization from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the French Revolution..., page 122:
- The brutality, the unthinking, the unreflecting character of the barbarians were so great, that the new faith, the new feelings with which they had been inspired, exercised but a very slight empire over them.Category:English terms with quotations#EMPIRE
- 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 1:
- With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter.Category:English terms with quotations#EMPIRE
- 2010, Stefania Tutino, Empire of Souls: Robert Bellarmine and the Christian Commonwealth, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 270:
- […] could gain some political strength for the pope, but in so doing the pope would lose the uniqueness and supremacy of his empire over souls: […]Category:English terms with quotations#EMPIRE
Derived terms
- Achaemenid Empire
- Akkadian Empire
- American Empire
- antiempire
- Austrian Empire
- Austro-Hungarian Empire
- Aztec Empire
- British Empire
- Byzantine Empire
- Celestial Empire
- Central African Empire
- Chinese Empire
- colonial empire
- Eastern Roman Empire
- Empire Bay
- empire-building
- Empire-grown
- empirehood
- empire line
- Empire of China
- Empire of Japan
- Empire of Manchuria
- empire silhouette
- Empire State
- Empire style
- Empire Vale
- empire-waist
- empire waist
- empire-waisted
- Fifth Empire
- First Empire
- First French Empire
- French colonial empire
- German Empire
- global empire
- Graveyard of Empires
- gunpowder empire
- Gupta Empire
- Holy Roman Empire
- Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation
- Hunnic Empire
- Inca Empire
- Inland Empire
- interempire
- Japanese Empire
- Korean Empire
- Maratha Empire
- maritime empire
- miniempire
- Mongol Empire
- Mongolian Empire
- Mughal Empire
- New Empire
- Norwegian Empire
- Omani Empire
- Orange Empire
- Osman Empire
- Osmanian Empire
- Osmanic Empire
- Osmanli Empire
- Ottoman Empire
- Ottomanian Empire
- Parthian Empire
- Persian Empire
- Portuguese Empire
- Roman Empire
- Russian Empire
- Sasanian Empire
- Sassanid Empire
- Second Empire
- Second French Empire
- Seleucid Empire
- Sikh Empire
- Songhai Empire
- Soviet empire
- Spanish Empire
- subempire
- Swedish Empire
- Western Roman Empire
Related terms
Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Adjective
empire (not comparable)Category:English lemmas#EMPIRECategory:English adjectives#EMPIRECategory:English uncomparable adjectives#EMPIRECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#EMPIRECategory:Pages with entries#EMPIRECategory:Pages with 7 entries#EMPIRE
- Alternative letter-case form of Empire.
Further reading
- “empire”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “empire”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
- “empire”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
Category:en:Imperialism#EMPIRECategory:en:Monarchy#EMPIREFinnish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈempire/, [ˈe̞mpire̞]Category:Finnish 3-syllable words#EMPIRECategory:Finnish terms with IPA pronunciation#EMPIRE
- Rhymes: -empireCategory:Rhymes:Finnish/empire#EMPIRECategory:Rhymes:Finnish/empire/3 syllables#EMPIRE
- Syllabification(key): em‧pi‧re
- Hyphenation(key): em‧pi‧re
Noun
empireCategory:Finnish lemmas#EMPIRECategory:Finnish nouns#EMPIRECategory:Finnish entries with incorrect language header#EMPIRECategory:Pages with entries#EMPIRECategory:Pages with 7 entries#EMPIRE
- (artCategory:fi:Art#EMPIRE) ellipsis of empiretyyli (“Empire style”)Category:Finnish ellipses#EMPIRE
Declension
| Inflection of empire (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | empire | empiret | |
| genitive | empiren | empirejen | |
| partitive | empireä | empirejä | |
| illative | empireen | empireihin | |
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | empire | empiret | |
| accusative | nom. | empire | empiret |
| gen. | empiren | ||
| genitive | empiren | empirejen empirein rare | |
| partitive | empireä | empirejä | |
| inessive | empiressä | empireissä | |
| elative | empirestä | empireistä | |
| illative | empireen | empireihin | |
| adessive | empirellä | empireillä | |
| ablative | empireltä | empireiltä | |
| allative | empirelle | empireille | |
| essive | empirenä | empireinä | |
| translative | empireksi | empireiksi | |
| abessive | empirettä | empireittä | |
| instructive | — | empirein | |
| comitative | See the possessive forms below. | ||
Derived terms
Further reading
- “empire”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑ̃.piʁ/Category:French 2-syllable words#EMPIRECategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#EMPIRE
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#EMPIREAudio: (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#EMPIREAudio (France (Lyon)): (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#EMPIREAudio (France (Agen)): (file)
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old FrenchCategory:French terms inherited from Old French#EMPIRECategory:French terms derived from Old French#EMPIRE empire, from LatinCategory:French terms inherited from Latin#EMPIRECategory:French terms derived from Latin#EMPIRE imperium.
Noun
empire m (plural empires)Category:French lemmas#EMPIRECategory:French nouns#EMPIRECategory:French countable nouns#EMPIRECategory:French entries with incorrect language header#EMPIRECategory:French masculine nouns#EMPIRECategory:Pages with entries#EMPIRECategory:Pages with 7 entries#EMPIRE
- empire
- influence, authority, dominion
- 1640, Pierre Corneille, Horace, act 4, scene 7:
- Quelle injustice aux Dieux, d'abandonner au femmes / Un empire si grand sur les plus belles âmesCategory:French terms with quotations#EMPIRE
- What injustice from the gods, to give up for women / Such great dominion over the most beautiful souls
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- Russian: ампи́р (ampír)
Etymology 2
Verb
empireCategory:French non-lemma forms#EMPIRECategory:French verb forms#EMPIRECategory:French entries with incorrect language header#EMPIRECategory:Pages with entries#EMPIRECategory:Pages with 7 entries#EMPIRE
- inflection of empirer:
Further reading
- “empire”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
Anagrams
Category:fr:Monarchy#EMPIREItalian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Vulgar LatinCategory:Italian terms inherited from Vulgar Latin#EMPIRECategory:Italian terms derived from Vulgar Latin#EMPIRE *implīre~*implĕre, from LatinCategory:Italian terms inherited from Latin#EMPIRECategory:Italian terms derived from Latin#EMPIRE implēre.
Pronunciation
Verb
empìre (first-person singular present émpioCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, first-person singular past historic empìiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE or (less common) empiéiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, past participle empìtoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE or (less common) empiùtoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, auxiliary avéreCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE)Category:Italian lemmas#EMPIRECategory:Italian verbs#EMPIRECategory:Italian verbs ending in -ire#EMPIRECategory:Italian irregular verbs#EMPIRECategory:Italian verbs with irregular present indicative#EMPIRECategory:Italian verbs with irregular past historic#EMPIRECategory:Italian verbs with irregular past participle#EMPIRECategory:Italian verbs with irregular gerund#EMPIRECategory:Italian verbs with irregular present participle#EMPIRECategory:Italian verbs taking avere as auxiliary#EMPIRECategory:Italian entries with incorrect language header#EMPIRECategory:Pages with entries#EMPIRECategory:Pages with 7 entries#EMPIRE (transitiveCategory:Italian transitive verbs#EMPIRE)
- (uncommonCategory:Italian terms with uncommon senses#EMPIRE, literally) to fill [with di ‘with’]
- (figuratively) to fill, to stuff [with di ‘with’]
- empire di gioia ― to fill with joyCategory:Italian terms with usage examples#EMPIRE
- empire la testa di qualcuno di chiacchiere ― to fill someone's head with chatterCategory:Italian terms with usage examples#EMPIRE
- (archaicCategory:Italian terms with archaic senses#EMPIRE or literaryCategory:Italian literary terms#EMPIRE) to satisfy, to satiate
Conjugation
| infinitive | empìreCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| auxiliary verb | avéreCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | gerund | empièndoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | |||
| present participle | empiènteCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | past participle | empìtoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, empiùtoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE1 | |||
| person | singular | plural | ||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | |
| indicative | io | tu | lui/lei, esso/essa | noi | voi | loro, essi/esse |
| present | émpioCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | émpiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | émpieCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empiàmoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empìteCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | émpionoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE |
| imperfect | empìvoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empìviCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empìvaCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empivàmoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empivàteCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empìvanoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE |
| past historic | empìiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, empiéiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE1 | empìstiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, empiéstiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE1 | empì, empié1 | empìmmoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, empiémmoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE1 | empìsteCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, empiésteCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE1 | empìronoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, empiéronoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE1 |
| future | empirò | empiràiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empirà | empirémoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empiréteCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empirànnoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE |
| conditional | empirèiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empiréstiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empirèbbeCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, empirébbeCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empirémmoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empirésteCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empirèbberoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE, empirébberoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE |
| subjunctive | che io | che tu | che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa | che noi | che voi | che loro, che essi/che esse |
| present | émpiaCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | émpiaCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | émpiaCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empiàmoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empiàteCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | émpianoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE |
| imperfect | empìssiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empìssiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empìsseCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empìssimoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empìsteCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empìsseroCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE |
| imperative | — | tu | Lei | noi | voi | Loro |
| émpiCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | émpiaCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empiàmoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | empìteCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | émpianoCategory:Italian links with redundant wikilinks#EMPIRE | ||
| negative imperative | non empìre | non émpia | non empiàmo | non empìte | non émpiano | |
1Less common.
Synonyms
Related terms
Anagrams
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Old FrenchCategory:Middle English terms borrowed from Old French#EMPIRECategory:Middle English terms derived from Old French#EMPIRE empire, empere, from LatinCategory:Middle English terms derived from Latin#EMPIRE imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, order”). Doublet of emperieCategory:Middle English doublets#EMPIRE.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛmˈpiːr(ə)/, /ˈɛmpiːr(ə)/Category:Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation#EMPIRE
Noun
empireCategory:Middle English lemmas#EMPIRECategory:Middle English nouns#EMPIRECategory:Middle English entries with incorrect language header#EMPIRECategory:Pages with entries#EMPIRECategory:Pages with 7 entries#EMPIRE
- emperorship (rank or office of an emperor)
- empire (the domain of an emperor or empress)
- (rareCategory:Middle English terms with rare senses#EMPIRE) total power or influence, especially when wielded by gods
- c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.), published c. 1410, Apocalips 1:5-6, folio 117, verso; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
- [⁊ of iheſu criſt] þat is a feiþful witneſſe .· þe firſte bigeten of deed men · ⁊ pꝛynce of kyngis of þe erþe / which louyde vs / ⁊ waiſchide vs fro oure ſynnes in his blood .· / ⁊ made vs a kyngdom / ⁊ pꝛeſtis to god ⁊ to his fadir / to hym be gloꝛie ⁊ empire .· in to woꝛldis of woꝛldisCategory:Middle English terms with quotations#EMPIRE
- [of Jesus Christ,] / who is a reliable witness, the firstborn of the dead, and sovereign over the rulers of the Earth, who loved us, cleansed us from our sins with his blood, / and made us a kingdom / and priests of God and his father. To him are glory and power for many ages.
- (rareCategory:Middle English terms with rare senses#EMPIRE) a region of control; a field or zone
- (rareCategory:Middle English terms with rare senses#EMPIRE, ChristianityCategory:enm:Christianity#EMPIRE) the Kingdom of Heaven
Descendants
References
- “empīre, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 March 2019.
Old French
Etymology
Inherited from LatinCategory:Old French terms inherited from Latin#EMPIRECategory:Old French terms derived from Latin#EMPIRE imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, order”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /emˈpiɾə/, (late) /amˈpiɾə/Category:Old French terms with IPA pronunciation#EMPIRE
Noun
empire oblique singular, m (oblique plural empires, nominative singular empires, nominative plural empire)Category:Old French lemmas#EMPIRECategory:Old French nouns#EMPIRECategory:Old French masculine nouns#EMPIRECategory:Old French entries with incorrect language header#EMPIRECategory:Old French masculine nouns#EMPIRECategory:Pages with entries#EMPIRECategory:Pages with 7 entries#EMPIRE
Descendants
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from FrenchCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from French#EMPIRECategory:Romanian terms derived from French#EMPIRE Empire.
Adjective
empire m or f or n (masculine plural empiri, feminine/neuter plural empire)Category:Romanian lemmas#EMPIRECategory:Romanian adjectives#EMPIRECategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#EMPIRECategory:Pages with entries#EMPIRECategory:Pages with 7 entries#EMPIRE
