emperorn.

Brit.

/ˈɛmp(ə)rə/, U.S.

/ˈɛmp(ə)rər/

Forms:

α. Middle English ampereur, Middle English amperur, Middle English aumperour.

β. Middle English eemperour, Middle English emparur, Middle English empere (transmission error), Middle English emperere, Middle English emperure, Middle English empirer, Middle English emprowre, Middle English 1600s emparour, Middle English 1600s empour (probably transmission error), Middle English–1500s emperowre, Middle English–1500s emporoure, Middle English–1500s emproure, Middle English–1600s empereur, Middle English–1600s emperore, Middle English–1600s emperoure, Middle English–1600s emperowr, Middle English–1600s emporour, Middle English–1600s emprour, Middle English–1700s emperour, Middle English– emperor, 1500s emparor, 1500s empirour, 1500s empiroure, 1500s empoure (probably transmission error), 1500s empowr (probably transmission error), 1500s empreoure, 1500s emprure, 1500s–1600s emperior, 1500s–1600s emperiour, 1500s–1600s emperioure, 1500s–1600s emperur, 1500s–1600s empiror, 1500s–1600s emporor; Scottish pre-1700 emperiour, pre-1700 emperore, pre-1700 emperour, pre-1700 emperoure, pre-1700 emperur, pre-1700 empreour, pre-1700 emprior, pre-1700 empriour, pre-1700 emprioure, pre-1700 empriowre, pre-1700 empryour, pre-1700 empryoure, pre-1700 empryowre, pre-1700 empyrowre; N.E.D. (1891) also records a form Middle English emprure.

γ. Middle English imparour, Middle English imparur, Middle English imperur, Middle English–1600s imperour; Scottish pre-1700 imperour; N.E.D. (1891) also records a form of the ending of the word Middle English -owr.

Also with capital initial.

Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French emperour, emperere.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman amperour, aumperur, empereour, emperor, emperour, emperur, empareur, Anglo-Norman and Old French empereor, (nominative case) emperere, Anglo-Norman and Middle French empereur (French empereur ) sovereign ruler of an empire (c1050 in Old French with reference to Honorius, ruler of the Western Roman Empire 395–423, c1100 denoting the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire), absolute ruler of other realms (1139), military commander (late 12th cent.), a person who is considered particularly powerful or important (late 13th cent. or earlier) < classical Latin imperātor imperator n. Compare Old Occitan emperador, Catalan emperador (14th cent.), Spanish emperador (beginning of the 12th cent.), Portuguese imperador (13th cent. as †emperador), Italian imperatore (13th cent.; also †emperatore).Sense history of the Latin word. Classical Latin imperator , originally denoting in general the holder of a chief military command, became in the period of the Roman Republic a title of honour, bestowed on a victorious general by the acclamation of the army on the field of battle. This title was afterwards conferred by the senate on Julius Caesar and on Augustus, with reference to the military powers with which the chief of the state was invested; and in accordance with this precedent it was adopted by all the subsequent rulers of the empire except Tiberius, Gaius (Caligula), and Claudius. In post-classical Latin it became the chief official designation of the sovereign, being interpreted in the sense of ‘absolute ruler’ (translated by Hellenistic Greek αὐτοκράτωρ autocrator n.). In this sense it continued to be applied to the rulers of the Western and Eastern Roman empires until they came to an end. In a.d. 800 when the Western Empire was nominally revived, the Frankish king Charlemagne was crowned by the pope with the title of imperator , implying that he was invested with the same supremacy over European monarchs that the rulers of the earlier Roman Empire had possessed. The title continued to be borne by his successors, the heads of the Holy Roman Empire (see Holy Roman Empire n.), down to its extinction in 1806. Specific senses. With the use in sense 1b compare earlier Kaiser n. and kaser n., and see discussion at these entries. In sense 1c often after the titles of absolute rulers of other countries in various languages, e.g. Middle Mongolian qaγan khan n.¹, Old Russian, Russian car′ tsar n. (from the time of Peter the Great, the official title of the Emperor of Russia was imperator″ imperator n.), Persian šāh shah n. (compare also Mogul n.¹), Chinese dìTi n.⁴, Japanese tennō (compare also Mikado n. and dairi n.). In sense 3a originally after French empereur (apparently earliest denoting a swordfish, 1658 in the passage translated in quot. 1666); compare Occitan emperador swordfish (1560). With sense 3c compare French empereur silver-washed fritillary (a kind of butterfly) (1754 or earlier in this sense).

I. The sovereign ruler of an empire, and senses deriving from this.

1. The (male) sovereign ruler of an empire. Cf. empress n. 1. Frequently as a title (often with the).

a. historical. The sovereign ruler of the Roman Empire, or of either of the empires into which this divided in a.d. 395.On the division of the Roman Empire, see note at western adj. 5b.Eastern, Roman, Western emperor: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > emperor > [noun] > of eastern or western Roman Empire

emperor?c1225

Roman Emperorc1405

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 179 Þurch iulianes [heast] þe ampereur.

c1300 St. Margarete (Harl.) l. 23 in O. Cockayne Seinte Marherete (1866) 24 Liþer was þemperor Diocletian.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11277 In august time, þe Imparour, Was vs born vr sauueour.

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 4089 An sal come Þat sal hald þe empire of Rome Alle halely..He sal be last emparour þat þare sal be.

1520 Chron. Eng. iv. f. 27^v/2 He was commaunded by the letter of themperoure to come to Rome.

c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) iii. 20 Marcus antonius vas venquest be the empriour agustus.

1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 36 Baldwin [III] had before married Emanuell the Greeke Emperours neece.

1650 J. Brinsley Antidote Poysonous Weeds Heretical Blasphemies 24 So that good Emperour Justinian looked upon it.

1700 T. Bennet Answer Dissenters Pleas vi. 129 The first Christian Emperour Constantine the Great, had his directions probably from Heaven it self, to make this sign [sc. the cross] the great Banner in his Wars.

1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 350 Rome, under her emperors, united the evils of both systems.

1833 C. F. Crusé tr. Eusebius Eccl. Hist. (ed. 2) iv. x. 137 This emperor (Adrian,) having finished his mortal career.

1895 B. Adams Law of Civilization & Decay i. 32 The emperor seemed destined to remain the universal heir through bequests of the childless.

1957 J. Bishop Day Christ Died (1959) 262 All taxes came under the eye of an appointee of the Emperor called the Censor.

1989 S. K. Wright Vengeance of our Lord i. 29 During the reign of Emperor Tiberius Caesar, Titus is the king of Aquitaine.

2011 Fortean Times May 49/4 Interestingly, however, Constantine did once claim to have seen a vision. This was..of Sol Invictus, the martial emperor's god of choice.

b. The sovereign ruler of the Holy Roman Empire; = Holy Roman Emperor n. Now historical.The Holy Roman Empire was frequently referred to using alternative names, such as Almaigne, Germany, etc. N.E.D. (1891) notes: ‘Until the present century “the Emperor” always, unless otherwise interpreted by the context, denoted the “emperor of Germany”.’

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > emperor > [noun] > of western or Holy Roman Empire

emperorc1325

Kaisera1425

King (also Emperor) of the Romansc1450

Roman Emperor1567

Caesar1673

Holy Roman Emperor1784

Western emperor1790

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 9946 Þe aumperour frederic, & þe king philip of france Alle hii wende to ierusalem.

c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 114 Þe frendis of þis knyght complenyd of þis wurthi man vnto þe Emperour Frederike.

a1500 (?a1475) Guy of Warwick (Cambr. Ff.2.38) l. 4205 Therfore y sey yow, syr emperere [MS Empere].

?1530 J. Rastell Pastyme of People sig. *Bii Philyppe Auguste..wanne a great battell agaynst Otton the Emperour.

a1563 J. Bale King Johan (1969) i. 10 My granfather was an emperowre excelent.

1615 E. Howes Stow's Annales (new ed.) 661/1 His lordship..taking leaue of the Emperour, departed from Vienna.

1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 10 At which time [sc. 1485] Innocent the Eight was Pope of Rome; Fredericke the Third, Emperour of Almaine; and Maximilian his sonne newly chosen King of the Romans.

1670 J. Evelyn tr. Moral Pract. Jesuites 202 Their Cause was so unjust, that they failed of their hopes in Germany, and in Italy, from the Emperour, the Apostolical Nuncio, and the Arch-Duke of Inspruch.

1735 J. Oldmixon Hist. Eng.: George I vi. 763 The Treaty of Vienna between the Emperor and King of Spain.

1759 G. Sale et al. in Mod. Part Universal Hist. XII. 105 The German emperor was no less impatient on his part for an end of the war.

1804 tr. Proclam. Francis II 11 Aug. in Ann. Reg. 695 Immediately after our title of elected emperor of the Romans shall be inserted that of hereditary emperor of Austria.

1864 J. Bryce Holy Rom. Empire v. 83 No act of sovereignty is recorded to have been done by any of the Emperors in England.

1894 Catholic World July 511 The same neglect would be manifested by an ambitious and egoistic emperor (Charles V.).

1973 Ebony May 76/2 [The musical] Pippin, which deals with the trials and tribulations of Emperor Charlemagne's son.

2008 J. M. Riddle Hist. Middle Ages xi. 324 Adrian..relented and crowned Frederick emperor on June 18, 1155.

c. gen. The sovereign ruler of an empire; a sovereign considered superior in dignity to a king.From the Middle Ages onwards, this title has often been applied to monarchs ruling over wide territories outside Europe, such as those of the Chinese, the Mongols, the Japanese, etc. Since the 16th cent. Russian tsars (see tsar n.) have frequently been referred to as emperor. The title has also been used, although less commonly, to refer to the sovereigns of Muslim nations such as Turkey and Morocco. (For the rulers of these nations, sultan has been the more common title.) From the 19th cent., the title of emperor has been widely applied to sovereigns throughout the world, esp. those ruling a territory regarded as constituting an empire.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > emperor > [noun]

kaserc888

Kaiserc1225

emperora1393

imperator1590

imperial1594

imperiality1839

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. l. 2393 Thou [sc. Alexander the Great] art named Emperour.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 26 (MED) The grete Chane [i.e. Khan]..is the gretteste Emperour..of alle the parties beȝonde.

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Knychthede (1993) iii. 15 Thare was ordanyt kingis tobe subordinate personis, next efter Emperouris to gouerne realmes.

1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII c. 22. §1 The laufull kinges and emperours of this realme.

1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus Prol. sig. Aiiij As I haue red of Kingis and Empreouris.

1598 R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 374 The first ambassage to our most gracious Queene Elizabeth from the Russian Emperour anno 1567.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iii. ii. 118 The Emperor of Russia was my Father.

1655 M. Carter Anal. Honor in Honor Rediv. 70 Yet our Kings have been styled Emperors, and this Realm of England, called an Empire.

1705 N. Rowe Biter ii. 25 There are Princes!—The King of Tunquin, and Emperor of Japan.

1772 W. Jones Ess. (1777) i. 185 Being assisted by the emperours of India and China.

1804 tr. Proclam. Francis II 11 Aug. in Ann. Reg. 695 Immediately after our title of elected emperor of the Romans shall be inserted that of hereditary emperor of Austria.

1836 Penny Cycl. V. 132 Napoleon, by the grace of God..emperor of the French.

1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 76/2 The government of China..depends on the will..of the reigning emperor.

1894 Jrnl. Royal Asiatic Soc. Oct. 756 The Emperor Jahángir remarks in his Memoirs, that for Muhammadans to marry Hindu women was not so bad.

1922 Daily Mail 3 Nov. 12/5 Naval Appointments..to Emperor of India [i.e. George V] on recommissioning.

1958 Boys' Life Oct. 25/2 Curious and fearful, the Aztec emperor, Montezuma, invited the Spaniards to be his guests.

1972 P. Buck China Past & Present 33 Alas, the young Emperor..slipped out of the palace at night, disguised as a commoner and yet secretly known everywhere, and gave himself up to dissipation.

2001 National Geographic Jan. 121/1 Emperor Akihito..is a modest man with an understated manner that seems to belie his position as tenno, or heavenly sovereign, of this modern and influential nation [sc. Japan].

2. figurative and in extended use. A person or thing regarded as pre-eminent or supreme in a particular sphere.

ΚΠ

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 85 (MED) He [sc. the virtuous man] heþ anoþre empire..uor he is emperour of him-zelue, þet is of his bodye.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ix. xxxi. 548 Þe fend þat hatte emperour of deþ.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 18179 (MED) Þou ert..sa hei wit-all, Bath als king and emparur.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 7213 Of all this world is Emperour Gyle my fadir.

1532 J. Fisher Two Fruytfull Serm. i. sig. D.1 Hym that is the kynge of all kynges, the lorde of all realmes, the Emperour of heuyn and of erthe, the gouernour of all the worlde.

1602 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor i. iii. 9 Thou art an Emperour Cæsar, Phesser and Kesar.

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. iii. 22 Your worme is your onely Emperour for dyet.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 510 Nor less Then Hells dread Emperour .

1699 J. Potter Archæologiæ Græcæ II. iii. xx. 162 Neptune, the Great Emperor of the Sea.

1761 P. Doyne tr. T. Tasso Delivery Jerusalem I. iv. 158 Once girt with steel and penetrating fire, Against the Emperor of Heaven we war'd.

1819 Edinb. Rev. 32 112 One of these mercantile pen and ink emperors.

1896 H. Belloc Verses & Sonnets 63 November is some historied Emperor, Conquered in age.

1954 A. J. Seymour in Kyk-over-Al 6 45 But I have seen them emperors of the sky..winnowing the air like beauty come alive.

2012 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 28 May The promotional posters even carry a quote from the leathery emperor of heavy metal, Lemmy.

3. As the name of an animal.

a. Any of various large or strikingly coloured fishes; (in later use) esp. = emperor bream n. Frequently with distinguishing word.In quot. 1666: a swordfish.See also emperor of Japan n. at Phrases 1.red emperor, sea emperor: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Percoidei > [noun] > miscellaneous type of

bluefish1622

parrotfish1656

emperor1666

blue hound-fish1672

green fish1743

reef fish1872

blue1885

flagtail1905

basslet1928

schoolmistress fish1929

1666 J. Davies tr. C. de Rochefort Hist. Caribby-Islands i. xvii. 101 Some call them Saw-fishes; some Emperors [Fr. Empereurs], because there is an hostility between them and the Whale, which they many times wound to death.

1698 tr. J. Raveneau de Lussan Jrnl. Voy. South Sea iv. 117 We found our selves all of a sudden in a Kingdom of large Fishes, such as Emperors [Fr. Empereurs], Tunnies, Germons, Galdenies, Negros, Bonitoes, and several others.

1744 J. Colson tr. P. van Musschenbroek Elements Nat. Philos. II. 103 As Eustachius and Ruyschius have observed, the optic nerve is perforated in the middle, as Malpighius also has taken notice in the fish called Emperor.

1916 Mem. Queensland Mus. 5 164 (heading) Lethrinus nebulosus... Spangled emperor.

1929 Times 2 Aug. 14/1 ‘Emperors’, beautiful fish of about 30 lb., and of a rich red colour all over.

1997 G. S. Helfman et al. Diversity of Fishes xx. 350/2 Sex reversal has evolved, apparently independently, in..14 perciform families (snooks, sea basses, soapfishes, emperors, rovers, porgies, [etc.]).

2008 Courier Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 29 Aug. 78 Vulnerability to fishing pressure may differ, particularly in those species like yellowtail and pink-eared emperor that grow slowly and have long life spans.

b. = emperor moth n. Frequently with distinguishing word.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Saturniidae > saturnia pavonia minor or emperor-moth

emperor1742

emperor moth1742

1742 B. Wilkes Twelve New Designs Eng. Butterflies Pl. 7 (caption) The Cock Emperour.

1766 M. Harris Aurelian 50 The Emperor... The Eggs of this beautiful Moth are generally fixed by the Hen round the Stalk of the Food.

1808 New Monthly Mag. Nov. 400 I am inclined to think these are the caterpillars of that fine moth, the Tau Emperor (phalæna Bombyx Tauus of Haworth).

1838 R. Patterson Lett. Nat. Hist. Insects Shakspeare's Plays 165 The emperor (Saturnia pavonia-minor) is of equal dimensions, and from the splendour of his decorations well deserves his imperial title.

1909 G. Stratton-Porter Girl of Limberlost xii. 255 In one hand she held the lantern, and in the other stiffly extended before her, on a wad of calico reposed a magnificent pair of Yellow Emperors.

1947 F. Fraser Darling Nat. Hist. Highlands & Islands 113 Emperors in particular are scarce in many places, my own finds of cocoons showing a Chalcid infestation of about three out of four.

2009 C. Manley Brit. Moths & Butterflies (rev. ed.) 110 Like the Emperor, males [of the Kentish glory] fly by day and both sexes come to light.

(a) The large Eurasian butterfly Apatura iris; = purple emperor n. at purple adj. and n. Compounds 1b(a). Also called emperor of Morocco, emperor of the woods (see Phrases 1). See also emperor butterfly n. at Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Nymphalidae > subfamily Ithomiinae > genus Apatura > apatura iris (purple emperor)

purple emperor1742

emperor of the woods?1749

high-flyer?1749

emperor1773

emperor of Morocco1788

emperor butterfly1822

?1749 B. Wilkes Eng. Moths & Butterflies 63 The Purple High-Flyer, or Emperor of the Woods.]

1773 Weekly Mag. 21 Jan. 112/2 Papilio brought a box full of butterflies; he expatiated largely on the extraordinary beauty of his emperors and kings of Bohemia.

1774 Monthly Misc. Sept. 138/1 While the Florist was expatiating with rapture on the beauty of his flowers, the Naturalist suddenly discovered a fine butterfly among the tulips, and springing over the bed, in extacy cried out, ‘An Emperor, an Emperor!’ and trampled down his flowers, regardless of oaths and blows.

1803 A. H. Haworth Lepidoptera Britannica i. 19 He..ascends to a much greater elevation than any other insect I have ever seen..; especially if he happens to quarrel with another Emperor, the monarch of some neighbouring oak.

1857 Entomologist's Weekly Intelligencer 8 Aug. 147/2 I was delighted to see an Emperor (Apatura Iris) sailing over the tops of some beech trees.

1910 G. A. B. Dewar Airy Way v. 131 The effusion of rose on the upper side of some clouded yellow butterflies..looks, like the emperor's glow, the most perishable thing.

1998 Country Life 18 June 79/1 Most lepidopterists blame the emperor's decline on the destruction of woodlands and copses.

(b) More widely: any butterfly of the genus Apatura or subfamily Apaturinae (family Nymphalidae). Frequently with distinguishing word.

ΚΠ

1790 G. Riley Beauties Creation II. 11 (heading) The American Emperor.

1832 T. Brown Bk. Butterflies I. 130 The Oriental Emperor. Papilio Ripheus.—China.

1874 6th Ann. Rep. Noxious, Beneficial & other Insects State Missouri 137 The Eyed Emperor—Apatura Lycaon (Fabr.).

1917 C. M. Weed Butterflies Worth Knowing 111 The Fritillaries, the Angle-wings, the Sovereigns, and the Emperors are tribes in which practically all of the species are of medium or large size.

1966 G. Drayton in J. Figueroa Caribbean Voices I. iv. 61 The arum grows wild..Up on the Mountains: And night-blue Emperors steal its pollen.

1984 R. M. Pyle Audubon Soc. Handbk. for Butterfly Watchers xi. 127 Another nymphalid, the southeastern Tawny Emperor, patronizes rotting persimmons with a passion.

2010 C. Eiseman & N. Charney Tracks & Sign Insects & other Invertebr. ii. 95 Chrysalises of the emperors (Apaturinae) are also green, with a pair of pointed anterior lobes.

d. = emperor penguin n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > order Sphenisciformes or penguin > [noun] > member of genus Aptenodytes (emperor)

king penguin1776

emperor1844

emperor penguin1844

1844 G. R. Gray in Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 13 315 Now Shaw's Aptenodytes patagonica, taken from Forster's drawings, is not the Patagonian Penguin of Pennant in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’, but a distinct species, which the voyagers term the ‘Emperor’, while that of Pennant is their ‘King’.

1895 Proc. Royal Soc. Edinb. 20 174 No specimen of the King penguin, Aptenodytes pennantii.., was brought home, but I am not able to say whether or not the whole of the large individuals seen were really Emperors.

1927 Times (Weekly ed.) 3 Feb. 115/3 The King penguins..are, next to the Emperors, the largest of the family.

1967 M. E. Gillham Sub-Antarctic Sanctuary xx. 173 The almost impossibly rigorous conditions of the emperors' breeding colonies.

2000 Vanity Fair Jan. 98/1 Adult emperors stand waist-high to a man and having gorged on fish and krill all summer, weigh in at up to 100 pounds.

II. A commander.

4. A commander, esp. in the military; (now only) Roman History = imperator n. 1a. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > [noun]

heretogac900

marshal1258

chevetaine1297

chieftainc1330

arrayerc1370

governora1382

master of (the) chivalrya1382

leadera1387

war-headlinga1400

emperorc1400

captain1450

conductor1483

grand captain1531

commendador1580

lodesman1581

conducta1592

commander1598

induperator1599

war-captain1610

war-chief1610

war-leader1610

most mastera1616

commandant1687

commandant-general1827

baron1919

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 1668 Þe messagers Beeþ ycome to her empirers [a1425 Linc. Inn emperis].

?c1430 (?1383) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 290 Oure emperoure Crist comaundiþ.

1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1822) v. 439 [The] grete justice of thare emprioure Camillus.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 57^v Þai..ordant hym [sc. Agamynon] Emperour by opyn assent.

1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. iii. 6/1 The ships of an ancient custome, doe vse to chuse an Emperour among themselues.

1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales i. iii. 5 [Augustus] had beene honored with the name of Emperour one and twentie times.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. xv. 90 My Captaine, and my Emperor .

1741 C. Middleton Hist. Life Cicero (1742) II. vii. 193 Upon this success, Cicero was saluted Emperor.

1899 PMLA 14 70 Other variations here are the changed order of incident in burying the treasure, and the omission of the name of the Emperor (Crassus).

1996 Amer. Art 10 37/2 Much like the well-known colossal sculpture thought to depict the emperor Pompey.

2004 R. Isaac Landon Carter's Uneasy Kingdom iv. x. 261 The diarist again invoked Dryden's already-quoted narrative of the Emperor Mark Anthony's last birthday.

Phrases

P1. As the name of an animal of a relatively large or brightly coloured kind. Cf. sense 3 and Compounds 3.

† emperor of Japan n. Obsolete rare = emperor angelfish n. at Compounds 3. [Probably after French empereur du Japon (1796 or earlier). Compare scientific Latin imperator , specific name, German Kaiserfisch (for both, see emperor fish n.), German †Japanischer Kayser (1796 or earlier). With quot. 1838 compare Dutch keizer van Japan (1858 or earlier, recorded as a name for the fish in the Moluccas, formerly part of the Dutch East Indies).]

ΚΠ

1810 Encycl. Brit. XII. 693/1 C[hætodon] imperator, the emperor of Japan.

1838 J. Wilson Introd. Nat. Hist. Fishes 179/2 One of the most celebrated for the splendour and singularity of its aspect, is that named the Emperor of Japan by the Dutch, Chætodon imperator of Bloch.

emperor of Morocco n. now historical the purple emperor butterfly, Apatura iris.

ΘΚΠ

purple emperor1742

emperor of the woods?1749

high-flyer?1749

emperor1773

emperor of Morocco1788

emperor butterfly1822

1788 ‘P. Pindar’ (title) Sir Joseph Banks and the Emperor of Morocco.

1837 Amer. Monthly Mag. Nov. 439 Two sides of the room were already covered with all manner of moths and butterflies, from the tinest white miller..up to the finest of the European tribes, the superb Emperor of Morocco.

1873 E. Bulwer-Lytton Kenelm Chillingly II. v. v. 354 A rare butterfly..called the Emperor of Morocco.

1907 Nelson's Encycl. IV. 396/3 Emperor Butterfly, Purple Emperor, or Emperor of Morocco (Apatura iris), a very handsome southern European butterfly, remarkable for its affection for putrid meat, by means of which it is readily trapped.

2010 P. Barkham Butterfly Isles xiv. 204 Iris, as the Emperor was called by devotees, was also hailed as the Emperor of Morocco, the Emperor of the Woods, and His Imperial Majesty.

emperor of the woods n. now historical the purple emperor butterfly, Apatura iris.

ΘΚΠ

purple emperor1742

emperor of the woods?1749

high-flyer?1749

emperor1773

emperor of Morocco1788

emperor butterfly1822

?1749 B. Wilkes Eng. Moths & Butterflies 63 The Purple High-Flyer, or Emperor of the Woods.

1835 J. Duncan Nat. Hist. Brit. Butterflies (Naturalist's Libr.: Entomol. III) 55 The bluish-purple reflection that plays on the wings of the Emperor of the Woods, has a richness and brilliancy of tint, which is not often surpassed.

2010 P. Barkham Butterfly Isles xiv. 204 Iris, as the Emperor was called by devotees, was also hailed as the Emperor of Morocco, the Emperor of the Woods, and His Imperial Majesty.

P2. the emperor's (new) clothes and variants [after the title of the story Kejserens nye klæder (1837) by the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, first translated into English as The Emperor's New Clothes in 1846 (see quot. 1846)] : used allusively to describe a situation in which people believe or pretend to believe that something is real, good, important, etc., when it is plainly not, or in which they fear pointing out an obvious truth which is counter to accepted opinions. Hence in similar allusive phrases. In the story by Hans Christian Andersen, the emperor is tricked into thinking he is wearing beautiful new clothes, which all the courtiers pretend to admire, until a little boy points out that he is naked.In quot. 1868 referring (humorously) to nakedness.

ΚΠ

1846 C. Peachey tr. H. C. Andersen Danish Fairy Legends & Tales 166 All the people standing by..cried out, ‘Oh! how beautiful are our Emperor's new clothes!’]

1868 W. A. Croffut & J. M. Morris Mil. & Civil Hist. Connecticut xxxvii. 641 Any officer who wished to indulge in the luxury of a clean shirt was obliged to sit in garments of the same texture as ‘the emperor's new clothes’ while his single shift was going through the ‘laundry’.

1888 Murray's Mag. July 402 Some day, perhaps, it will be as in the old fable, and a bold person will come forward and say, ‘But after all the Emperor has no clothes’.

1896 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 526/1 No one dared to open their mouths concerning her love-affairs; and even when she openly flaunted them, they acted the part of the emperor's new clothes.

1934 Washington Post 3 Apr. 9/5 Far too many eager spirits have been looking at the merits of certain modern poets as the crowd looked at the emperor's new clothes.

1957 London Calling 10 Jan. 15/2 We have had a visit from Berthold Brecht's company from East Berlin—which made rather an ‘emperor's clothes’ situation: the people loudest in praise of this company..could not always understand a word being spoken on the stage!

1970 A. Price Labyrinth Makers xiii. 170 Dignity and reputation were like the Emperor's Clothes—a mere self-confidence trick.

1988 J. Trefil Dark Side of Universe i. 18 It was he [sc. Copernicus] who pointed out that the emperor's clothes might be missing, so that after him everyone came to see geocentrism as just an assumption.

2012 Daily Mail (Nexis) 19 May It is..likely to provide further fuel to critics who see much of modern art as a case of the ‘emperor's new clothes’.

Compounds

C1. Appositive.

emperor-god n.

ΚΠ

1827 Albion 22 Sept. 115/3 The idol to be paraded about the streets is called, in the provincial dialect, Pak-tei Poo-Saat, which means, ‘the Northern Emperor God’.

1961 Educ. Theatre Jrnl. 13 205/2 In Caligula, it is not Caligula, emperor-god, who is dominated, but the crowd of Roman patricians.

2002 N. Drury Dict. Esoteric 149/1 Hun-tun, in ancient Chinese cosmology, the force of chaos—personified as an emperor-god—who presided in the universe before the orderly and dynamic forces of yin and yang came into being.

emperor-king n.

ΚΠ

1539 J. Gough tr. J. Le Maire Abbreuyacyon Gen. Councellys sig. C.vii Phyllyp the fyrste of that name, Emperour kynge of Fraunce [Fr. roy de France].

1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands III. 60 The emperor-king passed through Piedmont in triumph.

2009 Slavic Rev. 68 665 Snyder's account does not mention the Sixtus Affair, through which Emperor-King Charles's efforts at a separate peace were exposed.

C2.

† emperor clerk n. derogatory Obsolete a high-ranking ecclesiastical dignitary.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > clerical superior > [noun]

bishopc893

prelate?c1225

prince of priests?c1225

high priestc1400

pontificala1450

emperor clerkc1475

gentleman untrial1486

dignitya1525

Aaron1565

hierarch1574

presul1577

monsignor1579

church governor1588

pontiff1589

archbishop1600

monseigneur1601

monsignor1611

sheikh1613

protomist1619

Mar1622

hyperochality1637

protarch1654

pontifex1655

prelatical1658

dignitary1672

hierophanta1676

Monsig.1698

ecclesiarch1781

arch-pontiff1790

Mgr1848

Msgr.1868

patriarch-

c1475 (?c1400) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 437 Alle degrees of emperor clerkis.

a1500 (?c1378) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 447 (MED) Of popis, ne of oþere emperour clerkis.

emperor maker n. rare before 19th cent. a person who brings an emperor to power through the exercise of political influence; cf. kingmaker n.

ΚΠ

1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. i. 18 Prouide that the raskallest sort be no Emperour-makers [L. interest ne imperatorem pessimi faciant].

1805 Anti-Jacobin Rev. & Mag. Dec. 428 Infallible Pius [VII] protests he was happy A forced visit to make to invincible Nappy, But, it seems, this infallible Emperor-maker Had contriv'd to forget our achievement at Acre.

1897 J. B. Perkins France under Louis XV I. vi. 224 For a while he [sc. the Duc de Belle-Isle] had been before the eyes of all Europe; he had filled the great rôle of an emperor maker.

2007 China Econ. Rev. (Nexis) July The Dowager Empress—emperor maker and dynastic scourge—loomed as a tall shadow behind everything that happened to China.

C3. In names of animals of a relatively large or brightly coloured kind. Cf. sense 3 and Phrases 1. [Frequently after scientific Latin imperator, specific name (see imperator n.).]

emperor angelfish n. [after scientific Latin imperator, specific name (see emperor fish n.); compare note at emperor of Japan n.] an Indo-Pacific angelfish, Pomacanthus imperator (family Pomacanthidae), which has a striking colour pattern dominated by blue and yellow stripes; cf. emperor fish n. and emperor of Japan n. at Phrases 1.

ΚΠ

1940 A. W. Herre Philippine Fish Tales xliv. 172 One of the largest and most gorgeous members of this group is the emperor angel-fish.

1990 D. Attenborough Trials of Life ii. 55 (caption) The emperor angel fish, above as a juvenile and below as an adult.

2010 New Yorker 2 Aug. 60/3 Among the pictures, Jack notices the one of the emperor angelfish, whose colors the Frenchman got all wrong.

emperor bream n. originally Australian any of various perciform fishes of the genus Lethrinus or family Lethrinidae, found around tropical coasts and reefs mainly in the Indo-Pacific region; cf. sense 3a.

ΚΠ

1916 Mem. Queensland Mus. 5 159 (heading) Family Lethrinidæ... The whiptail, ox-eye, and emperor breams.

1951 T. C. Roughley Fish & Fisheries Austral. (rev. ed.) 75 The best-known of the emperor breams is the sweet-lip or red-mouthed emperor.

2004 Aberdeen Evening Expr. (Nexis) 4 June 18 The tempting selection includes Emperor Bream—great for a barbecue.

emperor butterfly n. = sense 3c.

ΘΚΠ

purple emperor1742

emperor of the woods?1749

high-flyer?1749

emperor1773

emperor of Morocco1788

emperor butterfly1822

1742 B. Wilkes Twelve New Designs Eng. Butterflies Pl. 6 (caption) The Purple Emperour Butterfly.]

1822 Pocket Mag. 9 318 After feeding, pampering, and carefully watching a fine caterpillar, in expectation of beholding it transform into an emperor butterfly, or a peacock moth, the disappointed speculist finds his care has been lavished on an impostor.

1996 Church Times 6 Sept. 7/1 When we were in New Zealand in their autumn..we saw Asclepias physocarpas in flower and attracting the Emperor butterfly.

2006 J. T. Costa Other Insect Societies xviii. 607 A handful of Apaturinae, a largely Old World family of fewer than 500 species, have gregarious larvae, notably the emperor butterflies of the genus Asterocampa.

emperor dragonfly n. [after scientific Latin imperator, specific name ( W. E. Leach in Edinb. Encycl. (1815) IX. 137)] a large dragonfly of Eurasia and Africa, Anax imperator (family Aeshnidae), the abdomen of which is predominantly blue in the male and green in the female.

ΚΠ

1937 C. Longfield Dragonflies of Brit. Isles 100 The Emperor Dragon-fly. Anax imperator... Chief Characters:—Very like an Aeshna, but the wing-veins are arranged differently.

1960 P. S. Corbet et al. Dragonflies ii. 16 Another of these [sc. our largest dragonflies], even more massive, is the magnificent Emperor Dragonfly, Anax imperator Leach.

2008 Daily Tel. 8 Apr. 5/1 (caption) Wild scenes:..an emperor dragonfly, red campion and a white-tailed eagle.

emperor fish n. (a) = emperor angelfish n.; (b) = emperor bream n. [In sense (a) after German Kaiserfisch (1787 as †Kayserfisch : M. E. Bloch Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische II. 148); compare the scientific Latin specific name imperator (1787 in Chaetodon imperator , on the same page in Bloch's work). Compare emperor of Japan n.]

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > fish > miscellaneous types > [noun]

mudfish1502

sprat1552

frogfish1598

rockfish1605

yellowtaila1622

sleeper1668

picarel1688

hogfish1735

porkfish1735

sucker1753

zebrafish1771

yellowbelly1775

white steenbras1801

stone-toter1817

stargazer1842

warehou1848

baardman1853

goatfish1864

holostome1864

spot snapper1876

suck-fish1876

mademoiselle1882

queenfish1883

cigar-fish1884

emperor fish1884

rock beauty1885

oilfish1896

aholehole1897

berrugate1898

Photoblepharon1902

sweet-lip1934

rabbitfish1941

redbait1960

1884 tr. J. J. Rein Japan: Trav. & Res. i. vii. 193 None of them can compare with the proud angel-fish of the West Indies (Holacanthus ciliaris) or the Emperor-fish [Ger. Kaiserfisch] (H. imperator) of the Indian Ocean.

1896 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. V. 344 The splendidly-coloured emperor-fish (H[olacanthus] imperator)..ranges from the east coast of Africa to the Indian and Malayan seas.

1949 Oxf. Junior Encycl. II. 373/2 The best-known [Butterfly-fish] is the Emperor Fish of Indian seas, a very gaudy fish, with its yellow stripes crossing a blue or brown body, and blue and white markings on head and fins.

2012 National (Abu Dhabi) (Nexis) 14 Oct. The old centre is currently breeding hammour and subaiti fish to be released into the wild, having managed to do the same with emperor fish last year.

emperor goose n. a large migratory Arctic goose, Chen canagica, found on coasts around the Bering Sea and having grey and white variegated plumage.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > [noun] > member of subfamily Anserinea (goose) > genus Anser > anser canagicus (emperor goose)

emperor goose1869

1869 Trans. Chicago Acad. Sci. 1 296 Chloephaga canagica Bon... Emperor Goose. This magnificent bird abounds in profusion in the Kúsilvak Slough, or mouth of the Yukon, to the exclusion of all the other species.

1940 I. N. Gabrielson & S. G. Jewett Birds Oregon 129 The Emperor Geese usually arrive here as single birds mingling with other species or in small bands.

2000 Daily Tel. 3 Apr. 8/7 Most at risk would be the red-breasted goose, tundra bean goose, spoon-billed sandpiper and emperor goose.

emperor moth n. a large grey-brown Eurasian moth, Saturnia pavonia (family Saturniidae), with eyespots on all four wings; (frequently with distinguishing word) any of various other large moths of the family Saturniidae; cf. sense 3b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Saturniidae > saturnia pavonia minor or emperor-moth

emperor1742

emperor moth1742

1742 B. Wilkes Twelve New Designs Eng. Butterflies Pl. 4 (caption) The Emperour Moth.

1819 D. B. Warden Statist., Polit. & Hist. Acct. U.S. II. xxv. 484 The brown corn skipper butterfly, (Papilio alcyus), and the corn emperor moth, (Phalæna io), unfold themselves in the crysalis state, in the leaves and blade of the Indian corn.

1966 C. Sweeney Scurrying Bush i. 17 Enormous bat-like emperor moths, with vivid, eyed roundels on the patterned forewings.

2006 J. T. Costa Other Insect Societies xvii. 536 A better-studied species is Imbrasia belina (Westwood), the anomalous emperor moth, the social caterpillar of which constitutes an important food source in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

emperor penguin n. a penguin of the largest extant species, Aptenodytes forsteri, which lives in colonies around the coasts of Antarctica, migrating to communal nesting areas during the winter; cf. sense 3d.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > order Sphenisciformes or penguin > [noun] > member of genus Aptenodytes (emperor)

king penguin1776

emperor1844

emperor penguin1844

1844 G. R. Gray List Specimens Birds Brit. Mus. III. 156 The Emperor Pinguin. Aptenodytes Forsteri, G. R. Gray, Ann. of Nat. Hist. 1844.

1905 R. F. Scott Voy. ‘Discovery’ I. iv. 148 A small colony of Emperor penguins in process of moulting exhibited the most dishevelled appearance.

1966 R. Silverberg Forgotten by Time 99 Only two of these [species of penguin] live in the Antarctic—the emperor penguin and the Adélie.

2003 New Yorker 3 Feb. 70/3 During the Antarctic winter, male emperor penguins incubate the eggs containing their offspring, huddling together on the ice to conserve body heat.

emperor tamarin n. [after scientific Latin imperator, specific name (1907)] the tamarin Saguinus imperator, of the Amazonian basin, which has dark fur with a very long white moustache.

ΚΠ

1936 E. G. Boulenger Apes & Monkeys vii. 195 Of the long-tusked marmosets, two of the most ornate are the ‘emperor’ and the ‘lion’.]

1949 Proc. U.S. National Mus. 98 412 Long-whiskered or emperor tamarins. White moustache extremely developed and extending to shoulders when laid back.

1987 Amer. Scientist 73 391/2 The author's detailed observations were limited to the Brown Capuchin, White-Fronted Capuchin, Squirrel Monkey, Emperor Tamarin, and Saddle-Backed Tamarin.

2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures II. 627/2 Emperor tamarin, Saguinus imperator. Distinctive white-mustached South American monkey named by Emil Goeldi in 1907.

Derivatives

ˈemperorless adj. [originally after German kaiserlos (1803 in the passage from Schiller's poem Der Graf von Habsburg translated in quot. 1856)]

ΚΠ

1856 W. H. Woodbury New Method learning German Lang. (new ed.) xxxiv. 118 Ended..was the emperorless [Ger. kaiserlose], the terrible period, and there was a ruler..again upon earth.

1882 Athenæum 30 Dec. 879/2 The great-grand-nephew of the victor of Rossbach put an end..to the emperor-less period.

1984 D. Duane My Enemy, my Ally ii. 32 He had long been fascinated by the..three-house legislative-executive branch of this Emperorless Empire.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	emperor
释义	emperorn. Brit. /ˈɛmp(ə)rə/, U.S. /ˈɛmp(ə)rər/ Forms: α. Middle English ampereur, Middle English amperur, Middle English aumperour. β. Middle English eemperour, Middle English emparur, Middle English empere (transmission error), Middle English emperere, Middle English emperure, Middle English empirer, Middle English emprowre, Middle English 1600s emparour, Middle English 1600s empour (probably transmission error), Middle English–1500s emperowre, Middle English–1500s emporoure, Middle English–1500s emproure, Middle English–1600s empereur, Middle English–1600s emperore, Middle English–1600s emperoure, Middle English–1600s emperowr, Middle English–1600s emporour, Middle English–1600s emprour, Middle English–1700s emperour, Middle English– emperor, 1500s emparor, 1500s empirour, 1500s empiroure, 1500s empoure (probably transmission error), 1500s empowr (probably transmission error), 1500s empreoure, 1500s emprure, 1500s–1600s emperior, 1500s–1600s emperiour, 1500s–1600s emperioure, 1500s–1600s emperur, 1500s–1600s empiror, 1500s–1600s emporor; Scottish pre-1700 emperiour, pre-1700 emperore, pre-1700 emperour, pre-1700 emperoure, pre-1700 emperur, pre-1700 empreour, pre-1700 emprior, pre-1700 empriour, pre-1700 emprioure, pre-1700 empriowre, pre-1700 empryour, pre-1700 empryoure, pre-1700 empryowre, pre-1700 empyrowre; N.E.D. (1891) also records a form Middle English emprure. γ. Middle English imparour, Middle English imparur, Middle English imperur, Middle English–1600s imperour; Scottish pre-1700 imperour; N.E.D. (1891) also records a form of the ending of the word Middle English -owr. Also with capital initial. Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French emperour, emperere. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman amperour, aumperur, empereour, emperor, emperour, emperur, empareur, Anglo-Norman and Old French empereor, (nominative case) emperere, Anglo-Norman and Middle French empereur (French empereur ) sovereign ruler of an empire (c1050 in Old French with reference to Honorius, ruler of the Western Roman Empire 395–423, c1100 denoting the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire), absolute ruler of other realms (1139), military commander (late 12th cent.), a person who is considered particularly powerful or important (late 13th cent. or earlier) < classical Latin imperātor imperator n. Compare Old Occitan emperador, Catalan emperador (14th cent.), Spanish emperador (beginning of the 12th cent.), Portuguese imperador (13th cent. as †emperador), Italian imperatore (13th cent.; also †emperatore).Sense history of the Latin word. Classical Latin imperator , originally denoting in general the holder of a chief military command, became in the period of the Roman Republic a title of honour, bestowed on a victorious general by the acclamation of the army on the field of battle. This title was afterwards conferred by the senate on Julius Caesar and on Augustus, with reference to the military powers with which the chief of the state was invested; and in accordance with this precedent it was adopted by all the subsequent rulers of the empire except Tiberius, Gaius (Caligula), and Claudius. In post-classical Latin it became the chief official designation of the sovereign, being interpreted in the sense of ‘absolute ruler’ (translated by Hellenistic Greek αὐτοκράτωρ autocrator n.). In this sense it continued to be applied to the rulers of the Western and Eastern Roman empires until they came to an end. In a.d. 800 when the Western Empire was nominally revived, the Frankish king Charlemagne was crowned by the pope with the title of imperator , implying that he was invested with the same supremacy over European monarchs that the rulers of the earlier Roman Empire had possessed. The title continued to be borne by his successors, the heads of the Holy Roman Empire (see Holy Roman Empire n.), down to its extinction in 1806. Specific senses. With the use in sense 1b compare earlier Kaiser n. and kaser n., and see discussion at these entries. In sense 1c often after the titles of absolute rulers of other countries in various languages, e.g. Middle Mongolian qaγan khan n.¹, Old Russian, Russian car′ tsar n. (from the time of Peter the Great, the official title of the Emperor of Russia was imperator″ imperator n.), Persian šāh shah n. (compare also Mogul n.¹), Chinese dìTi n.⁴, Japanese tennō (compare also Mikado n. and dairi n.). In sense 3a originally after French empereur (apparently earliest denoting a swordfish, 1658 in the passage translated in quot. 1666); compare Occitan emperador swordfish (1560). With sense 3c compare French empereur silver-washed fritillary (a kind of butterfly) (1754 or earlier in this sense). I. The sovereign ruler of an empire, and senses deriving from this. 1. The (male) sovereign ruler of an empire. Cf. empress n. 1. Frequently as a title (often with the). a. historical. The sovereign ruler of the Roman Empire, or of either of the empires into which this divided in a.d. 395.On the division of the Roman Empire, see note at western adj. 5b.Eastern, Roman, Western emperor: see the first element. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > emperor > [noun] > of eastern or western Roman Empire emperor?c1225 Roman Emperorc1405 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 179 Þurch iulianes [heast] þe ampereur. c1300 St. Margarete (Harl.) l. 23 in O. Cockayne Seinte Marherete (1866) 24 Liþer was þemperor Diocletian. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11277 In august time, þe Imparour, Was vs born vr sauueour. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 4089 An sal come Þat sal hald þe empire of Rome Alle halely..He sal be last emparour þat þare sal be. 1520 Chron. Eng. iv. f. 27^v/2 He was commaunded by the letter of themperoure to come to Rome. c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) iii. 20 Marcus antonius vas venquest be the empriour agustus. 1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 36 Baldwin [III] had before married Emanuell the Greeke Emperours neece. 1650 J. Brinsley Antidote Poysonous Weeds Heretical Blasphemies 24 So that good Emperour Justinian looked upon it. 1700 T. Bennet Answer Dissenters Pleas vi. 129 The first Christian Emperour Constantine the Great, had his directions probably from Heaven it self, to make this sign [sc. the cross] the great Banner in his Wars. 1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 350 Rome, under her emperors, united the evils of both systems. View more context for this quotation 1833 C. F. Crusé tr. Eusebius Eccl. Hist. (ed. 2) iv. x. 137 This emperor (Adrian,) having finished his mortal career. 1895 B. Adams Law of Civilization & Decay i. 32 The emperor seemed destined to remain the universal heir through bequests of the childless. 1957 J. Bishop Day Christ Died (1959) 262 All taxes came under the eye of an appointee of the Emperor called the Censor. 1989 S. K. Wright Vengeance of our Lord i. 29 During the reign of Emperor Tiberius Caesar, Titus is the king of Aquitaine. 2011 Fortean Times May 49/4 Interestingly, however, Constantine did once claim to have seen a vision. This was..of Sol Invictus, the martial emperor's god of choice. b. The sovereign ruler of the Holy Roman Empire; = Holy Roman Emperor n. Now historical.The Holy Roman Empire was frequently referred to using alternative names, such as Almaigne, Germany, etc. N.E.D. (1891) notes: ‘Until the present century “the Emperor” always, unless otherwise interpreted by the context, denoted the “emperor of Germany”.’ ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > emperor > [noun] > of western or Holy Roman Empire emperorc1325 Kaisera1425 King (also Emperor) of the Romansc1450 Roman Emperor1567 Caesar1673 Holy Roman Emperor1784 Western emperor1790 c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 9946 Þe aumperour frederic, & þe king philip of france Alle hii wende to ierusalem. c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 114 Þe frendis of þis knyght complenyd of þis wurthi man vnto þe Emperour Frederike. a1500 (?a1475) Guy of Warwick (Cambr. Ff.2.38) l. 4205 Therfore y sey yow, syr emperere [MS Empere]. ?1530 J. Rastell Pastyme of People sig. Bii Philyppe Auguste..wanne a great battell agaynst Otton the Emperour. a1563 J. Bale King Johan* (1969) i. 10 My granfather was an emperowre excelent. 1615 E. Howes Stow's Annales (new ed.) 661/1 His lordship..taking leaue of the Emperour, departed from Vienna. 1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 10 At which time [sc. 1485] Innocent the Eight was Pope of Rome; Fredericke the Third, Emperour of Almaine; and Maximilian his sonne newly chosen King of the Romans. 1670 J. Evelyn tr. Moral Pract. Jesuites 202 Their Cause was so unjust, that they failed of their hopes in Germany, and in Italy, from the Emperour, the Apostolical Nuncio, and the Arch-Duke of Inspruch. 1735 J. Oldmixon Hist. Eng.: George I vi. 763 The Treaty of Vienna between the Emperor and King of Spain. 1759 G. Sale et al. in Mod. Part Universal Hist. XII. 105 The German emperor was no less impatient on his part for an end of the war. 1804 tr. Proclam. Francis II 11 Aug. in Ann. Reg. 695 Immediately after our title of elected emperor of the Romans shall be inserted that of hereditary emperor of Austria. 1864 J. Bryce Holy Rom. Empire v. 83 No act of sovereignty is recorded to have been done by any of the Emperors in England. 1894 Catholic World July 511 The same neglect would be manifested by an ambitious and egoistic emperor (Charles V.). 1973 Ebony May 76/2 [The musical] Pippin, which deals with the trials and tribulations of Emperor Charlemagne's son. 2008 J. M. Riddle Hist. Middle Ages xi. 324 Adrian..relented and crowned Frederick emperor on June 18, 1155. c. gen. The sovereign ruler of an empire; a sovereign considered superior in dignity to a king.From the Middle Ages onwards, this title has often been applied to monarchs ruling over wide territories outside Europe, such as those of the Chinese, the Mongols, the Japanese, etc. Since the 16th cent. Russian tsars (see tsar n.) have frequently been referred to as emperor. The title has also been used, although less commonly, to refer to the sovereigns of Muslim nations such as Turkey and Morocco. (For the rulers of these nations, sultan has been the more common title.) From the 19th cent., the title of emperor has been widely applied to sovereigns throughout the world, esp. those ruling a territory regarded as constituting an empire. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > sovereign ruler or monarch > emperor > [noun] kaserc888 Kaiserc1225 emperora1393 imperator1590 imperial1594 imperiality1839 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iii. l. 2393 Thou [sc. Alexander the Great] art named Emperour. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 26 (MED) The grete Chane [i.e. Khan]..is the gretteste Emperour..of alle the parties beȝonde. c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Knychthede (1993) iii. 15 Thare was ordanyt kingis tobe subordinate personis, next efter Emperouris to gouerne realmes. 1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII c. 22. §1 The laufull kinges and emperours of this realme. 1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus Prol. sig. Aiiij As I haue red of Kingis and Empreouris. 1598 R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 374 The first ambassage to our most gracious Queene Elizabeth from the Russian Emperour anno 1567. a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iii. ii. 118 The Emperor of Russia was my Father. View more context for this quotation 1655 M. Carter Anal. Honor in Honor Rediv. 70 Yet our Kings have been styled Emperors, and this Realm of England, called an Empire. 1705 N. Rowe Biter ii. 25 There are Princes!—The King of Tunquin, and Emperor of Japan. 1772 W. Jones Ess. (1777) i. 185 Being assisted by the emperours of India and China. 1804 tr. Proclam. Francis II 11 Aug. in Ann. Reg. 695 Immediately after our title of elected emperor of the Romans shall be inserted that of hereditary emperor of Austria. 1836 Penny Cycl. V. 132 Napoleon, by the grace of God..emperor of the French. 1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 76/2 The government of China..depends on the will..of the reigning emperor. 1894 Jrnl. Royal Asiatic Soc. Oct. 756 The Emperor Jahángir remarks in his Memoirs, that for Muhammadans to marry Hindu women was not so bad. 1922 Daily Mail 3 Nov. 12/5 Naval Appointments..to Emperor of India [i.e. George V] on recommissioning. 1958 Boys' Life Oct. 25/2 Curious and fearful, the Aztec emperor, Montezuma, invited the Spaniards to be his guests. 1972 P. Buck China Past & Present 33 Alas, the young Emperor..slipped out of the palace at night, disguised as a commoner and yet secretly known everywhere, and gave himself up to dissipation. 2001 National Geographic Jan. 121/1 Emperor Akihito..is a modest man with an understated manner that seems to belie his position as tenno, or heavenly sovereign, of this modern and influential nation [sc. Japan]. 2. figurative and in extended use. A person or thing regarded as pre-eminent or supreme in a particular sphere. ΚΠ 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 85 (MED) He [sc. the virtuous man] heþ anoþre empire..uor he is emperour of him-zelue, þet is of his bodye. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ix. xxxi. 548 Þe fend þat hatte emperour of deþ. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 18179 (MED) Þou ert..sa hei wit-all, Bath als king and emparur. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 7213 Of all this world is Emperour Gyle my fadir. 1532 J. Fisher Two Fruytfull Serm. i. sig. D.1 Hym that is the kynge of all kynges, the lorde of all realmes, the Emperour of heuyn and of erthe, the gouernour of all the worlde. 1602 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor i. iii. 9 Thou art an Emperour Cæsar, Phesser and Kesar. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. iii. 22 Your worme is your onely Emperour for dyet. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 510 Nor less Then Hells dread Emperour . View more context for this quotation 1699 J. Potter Archæologiæ Græcæ II. iii. xx. 162 Neptune, the Great Emperor of the Sea. 1761 P. Doyne tr. T. Tasso Delivery Jerusalem I. iv. 158 Once girt with steel and penetrating fire, Against the Emperor of Heaven we war'd. 1819 Edinb. Rev. 32 112 One of these mercantile pen and ink emperors. 1896 H. Belloc Verses & Sonnets 63 November is some historied Emperor, Conquered in age. 1954 A. J. Seymour in Kyk-over-Al 6 45 But I have seen them emperors of the sky..winnowing the air like beauty come alive. 2012 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 28 May The promotional posters even carry a quote from the leathery emperor of heavy metal, Lemmy. 3. As the name of an animal. a. Any of various large or strikingly coloured fishes; (in later use) esp. = emperor bream n. Frequently with distinguishing word.In quot. 1666: a swordfish.See also emperor of Japan n. at Phrases 1.red emperor, sea emperor: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Percoidei > [noun] > miscellaneous type of bluefish1622 parrotfish1656 emperor1666 blue hound-fish1672 green fish1743 reef fish1872 blue1885 flagtail1905 basslet1928 schoolmistress fish1929 1666 J. Davies tr. C. de Rochefort Hist. Caribby-Islands i. xvii. 101 Some call them Saw-fishes; some Emperors [Fr. Empereurs], because there is an hostility between them and the Whale, which they many times wound to death. 1698 tr. J. Raveneau de Lussan Jrnl. Voy. South Sea iv. 117 We found our selves all of a sudden in a Kingdom of large Fishes, such as Emperors [Fr. Empereurs], Tunnies, Germons, Galdenies, Negros, Bonitoes, and several others. 1744 J. Colson tr. P. van Musschenbroek Elements Nat. Philos. II. 103 As Eustachius and Ruyschius have observed, the optic nerve is perforated in the middle, as Malpighius also has taken notice in the fish called Emperor. 1916 Mem. Queensland Mus. 5 164 (heading) Lethrinus nebulosus... Spangled emperor. 1929 Times 2 Aug. 14/1 ‘Emperors’, beautiful fish of about 30 lb., and of a rich red colour all over. 1997 G. S. Helfman et al. Diversity of Fishes xx. 350/2 Sex reversal has evolved, apparently independently, in..14 perciform families (snooks, sea basses, soapfishes, emperors, rovers, porgies, [etc.]). 2008 Courier Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 29 Aug. 78 Vulnerability to fishing pressure may differ, particularly in those species like yellowtail and pink-eared emperor that grow slowly and have long life spans. b. = emperor moth n. Frequently with distinguishing word. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Saturniidae > saturnia pavonia minor or emperor-moth emperor1742 emperor moth1742 1742 B. Wilkes Twelve New Designs Eng. Butterflies Pl. 7 (caption) The Cock Emperour. 1766 M. Harris Aurelian 50 The Emperor... The Eggs of this beautiful Moth are generally fixed by the Hen round the Stalk of the Food. 1808 New Monthly Mag. Nov. 400 I am inclined to think these are the caterpillars of that fine moth, the Tau Emperor (phalæna Bombyx Tauus of Haworth). 1838 R. Patterson Lett. Nat. Hist. Insects Shakspeare's Plays 165 The emperor (Saturnia pavonia-minor) is of equal dimensions, and from the splendour of his decorations well deserves his imperial title. 1909 G. Stratton-Porter Girl of Limberlost xii. 255 In one hand she held the lantern, and in the other stiffly extended before her, on a wad of calico reposed a magnificent pair of Yellow Emperors. 1947 F. Fraser Darling Nat. Hist. Highlands & Islands 113 Emperors in particular are scarce in many places, my own finds of cocoons showing a Chalcid infestation of about three out of four. 2009 C. Manley Brit. Moths & Butterflies (rev. ed.) 110 Like the Emperor, males [of the Kentish glory] fly by day and both sexes come to light. c. (a) The large Eurasian butterfly Apatura iris; = purple emperor n. at purple adj. and n. Compounds 1b(a). Also called emperor of Morocco, emperor of the woods (see Phrases 1). See also emperor butterfly n. at Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Nymphalidae > subfamily Ithomiinae > genus Apatura > apatura iris (purple emperor) purple emperor1742 emperor of the woods?1749 high-flyer?1749 emperor1773 emperor of Morocco1788 emperor butterfly1822 ?1749 B. Wilkes Eng. Moths & Butterflies 63 The Purple High-Flyer, or Emperor of the Woods.] 1773 Weekly Mag. 21 Jan. 112/2 Papilio brought a box full of butterflies; he expatiated largely on the extraordinary beauty of his emperors and kings of Bohemia. 1774 Monthly Misc. Sept. 138/1 While the Florist was expatiating with rapture on the beauty of his flowers, the Naturalist suddenly discovered a fine butterfly among the tulips, and springing over the bed, in extacy cried out, ‘An Emperor, an Emperor!’ and trampled down his flowers, regardless of oaths and blows. 1803 A. H. Haworth Lepidoptera Britannica i. 19 He..ascends to a much greater elevation than any other insect I have ever seen..; especially if he happens to quarrel with another Emperor, the monarch of some neighbouring oak. 1857 Entomologist's Weekly Intelligencer 8 Aug. 147/2 I was delighted to see an Emperor (Apatura Iris) sailing over the tops of some beech trees. 1910 G. A. B. Dewar Airy Way v. 131 The effusion of rose on the upper side of some clouded yellow butterflies..looks, like the emperor's glow, the most perishable thing. 1998 Country Life 18 June 79/1 Most lepidopterists blame the emperor's decline on the destruction of woodlands and copses. (b) More widely: any butterfly of the genus Apatura or subfamily Apaturinae (family Nymphalidae). Frequently with distinguishing word. ΚΠ 1790 G. Riley Beauties Creation II. 11 (heading) The American Emperor. 1832 T. Brown Bk. Butterflies I. 130 The Oriental Emperor. Papilio Ripheus.—China. 1874 6th Ann. Rep. Noxious, Beneficial & other Insects State Missouri 137 The Eyed Emperor—Apatura Lycaon (Fabr.). 1917 C. M. Weed Butterflies Worth Knowing 111 The Fritillaries, the Angle-wings, the Sovereigns, and the Emperors are tribes in which practically all of the species are of medium or large size. 1966 G. Drayton in J. Figueroa Caribbean Voices I. iv. 61 The arum grows wild..Up on the Mountains: And night-blue Emperors steal its pollen. 1984 R. M. Pyle Audubon Soc. Handbk. for Butterfly Watchers xi. 127 Another nymphalid, the southeastern Tawny Emperor, patronizes rotting persimmons with a passion. 2010 C. Eiseman & N. Charney Tracks & Sign Insects & other Invertebr. ii. 95 Chrysalises of the emperors (Apaturinae) are also green, with a pair of pointed anterior lobes. d. = emperor penguin n. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Sphenisciformes or penguin > [noun] > member of genus Aptenodytes (emperor) king penguin1776 emperor1844 emperor penguin1844 1844 G. R. Gray in Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 13 315 Now Shaw's Aptenodytes patagonica, taken from Forster's drawings, is not the Patagonian Penguin of Pennant in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’, but a distinct species, which the voyagers term the ‘Emperor’, while that of Pennant is their ‘King’. 1895 Proc. Royal Soc. Edinb. 20 174 No specimen of the King penguin, Aptenodytes pennantii.., was brought home, but I am not able to say whether or not the whole of the large individuals seen were really Emperors. 1927 Times (Weekly ed.) 3 Feb. 115/3 The King penguins..are, next to the Emperors, the largest of the family. 1967 M. E. Gillham Sub-Antarctic Sanctuary xx. 173 The almost impossibly rigorous conditions of the emperors' breeding colonies. 2000 Vanity Fair Jan. 98/1 Adult emperors stand waist-high to a man and having gorged on fish and krill all summer, weigh in at up to 100 pounds. II. A commander. 4. A commander, esp. in the military; (now only) Roman History = imperator n. 1a. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > [noun] heretogac900 marshal1258 chevetaine1297 chieftainc1330 arrayerc1370 governora1382 master of (the) chivalrya1382 leadera1387 war-headlinga1400 emperorc1400 captain1450 conductor1483 grand captain1531 commendador1580 lodesman1581 conducta1592 commander1598 induperator1599 war-captain1610 war-chief1610 war-leader1610 most mastera1616 commandant1687 commandant-general1827 baron1919 c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 1668 Þe messagers Beeþ ycome to her empirers [a1425 Linc. Inn emperis]. ?c1430 (?1383) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 290 Oure emperoure Crist comaundiþ. 1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1822) v. 439 [The] grete justice of thare emprioure Camillus. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 57^v Þai..ordant hym [sc. Agamynon] Emperour by opyn assent. 1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. iii. 6/1 The ships of an ancient custome, doe vse to chuse an Emperour among themselues. 1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales i. iii. 5 [Augustus] had beene honored with the name of Emperour one and twentie times. a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. xv. 90 My Captaine, and my Emperor . View more context for this quotation 1741 C. Middleton Hist. Life Cicero (1742) II. vii. 193 Upon this success, Cicero was saluted Emperor. 1899 PMLA 14 70 Other variations here are the changed order of incident in burying the treasure, and the omission of the name of the Emperor (Crassus). 1996 Amer. Art 10 37/2 Much like the well-known colossal sculpture thought to depict the emperor Pompey. 2004 R. Isaac Landon Carter's Uneasy Kingdom iv. x. 261 The diarist again invoked Dryden's already-quoted narrative of the Emperor Mark Anthony's last birthday. Phrases P1. As the name of an animal of a relatively large or brightly coloured kind. Cf. sense 3 and Compounds 3. † emperor of Japan n. Obsolete rare = emperor angelfish n. at Compounds 3. [Probably after French empereur du Japon (1796 or earlier). Compare scientific Latin imperator , specific name, German Kaiserfisch (for both, see emperor fish n.), German †Japanischer Kayser (1796 or earlier). With quot. 1838 compare Dutch keizer van Japan (1858 or earlier, recorded as a name for the fish in the Moluccas, formerly part of the Dutch East Indies).] ΚΠ 1810 Encycl. Brit. XII. 693/1 C[hætodon] imperator, the emperor of Japan. 1838 J. Wilson Introd. Nat. Hist. Fishes 179/2 One of the most celebrated for the splendour and singularity of its aspect, is that named the Emperor of Japan by the Dutch, Chætodon imperator of Bloch. emperor of Morocco n. now historical the purple emperor butterfly, Apatura iris. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Nymphalidae > subfamily Ithomiinae > genus Apatura > apatura iris (purple emperor) purple emperor1742 emperor of the woods?1749 high-flyer?1749 emperor1773 emperor of Morocco1788 emperor butterfly1822 1788 ‘P. Pindar’ (title) Sir Joseph Banks and the Emperor of Morocco. 1837 Amer. Monthly Mag. Nov. 439 Two sides of the room were already covered with all manner of moths and butterflies, from the tinest white miller..up to the finest of the European tribes, the superb Emperor of Morocco. 1873 E. Bulwer-Lytton Kenelm Chillingly II. v. v. 354 A rare butterfly..called the Emperor of Morocco. 1907 Nelson's Encycl. IV. 396/3 Emperor Butterfly, Purple Emperor, or Emperor of Morocco (Apatura iris), a very handsome southern European butterfly, remarkable for its affection for putrid meat, by means of which it is readily trapped. 2010 P. Barkham Butterfly Isles xiv. 204 Iris, as the Emperor was called by devotees, was also hailed as the Emperor of Morocco, the Emperor of the Woods, and His Imperial Majesty. emperor of the woods n. now historical the purple emperor butterfly, Apatura iris. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Nymphalidae > subfamily Ithomiinae > genus Apatura > apatura iris (purple emperor) purple emperor1742 emperor of the woods?1749 high-flyer?1749 emperor1773 emperor of Morocco1788 emperor butterfly1822 ?1749 B. Wilkes Eng. Moths & Butterflies 63 The Purple High-Flyer, or Emperor of the Woods. 1835 J. Duncan Nat. Hist. Brit. Butterflies (Naturalist's Libr.: Entomol. III) 55 The bluish-purple reflection that plays on the wings of the Emperor of the Woods, has a richness and brilliancy of tint, which is not often surpassed. 2010 P. Barkham Butterfly Isles xiv. 204 Iris, as the Emperor was called by devotees, was also hailed as the Emperor of Morocco, the Emperor of the Woods, and His Imperial Majesty. P2. the emperor's (new) clothes and variants [after the title of the story Kejserens nye klæder (1837) by the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, first translated into English as The Emperor's New Clothes in 1846 (see quot. 1846)] : used allusively to describe a situation in which people believe or pretend to believe that something is real, good, important, etc., when it is plainly not, or in which they fear pointing out an obvious truth which is counter to accepted opinions. Hence in similar allusive phrases. In the story by Hans Christian Andersen, the emperor is tricked into thinking he is wearing beautiful new clothes, which all the courtiers pretend to admire, until a little boy points out that he is naked.In quot. 1868 referring (humorously) to nakedness. ΚΠ 1846 C. Peachey tr. H. C. Andersen Danish Fairy Legends & Tales 166 All the people standing by..cried out, ‘Oh! how beautiful are our Emperor's new clothes!’] 1868 W. A. Croffut & J. M. Morris Mil. & Civil Hist. Connecticut xxxvii. 641 Any officer who wished to indulge in the luxury of a clean shirt was obliged to sit in garments of the same texture as ‘the emperor's new clothes’ while his single shift was going through the ‘laundry’. 1888 Murray's Mag. July 402 Some day, perhaps, it will be as in the old fable, and a bold person will come forward and say, ‘But after all the Emperor has no clothes’. 1896 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 526/1 No one dared to open their mouths concerning her love-affairs; and even when she openly flaunted them, they acted the part of the emperor's new clothes. 1934 Washington Post 3 Apr. 9/5 Far too many eager spirits have been looking at the merits of certain modern poets as the crowd looked at the emperor's new clothes. 1957 London Calling 10 Jan. 15/2 We have had a visit from Berthold Brecht's company from East Berlin—which made rather an ‘emperor's clothes’ situation: the people loudest in praise of this company..could not always understand a word being spoken on the stage! 1970 A. Price Labyrinth Makers xiii. 170 Dignity and reputation were like the Emperor's Clothes—a mere self-confidence trick. 1988 J. Trefil Dark Side of Universe i. 18 It was he [sc. Copernicus] who pointed out that the emperor's clothes might be missing, so that after him everyone came to see geocentrism as just an assumption. 2012 Daily Mail (Nexis) 19 May It is..likely to provide further fuel to critics who see much of modern art as a case of the ‘emperor's new clothes’. Compounds C1. Appositive. emperor-god n. ΚΠ 1827 Albion 22 Sept. 115/3 The idol to be paraded about the streets is called, in the provincial dialect, Pak-tei Poo-Saat, which means, ‘the Northern Emperor God’. 1961 Educ. Theatre Jrnl. 13 205/2 In Caligula, it is not Caligula, emperor-god, who is dominated, but the crowd of Roman patricians. 2002 N. Drury Dict. Esoteric 149/1 Hun-tun, in ancient Chinese cosmology, the force of chaos—personified as an emperor-god—who presided in the universe before the orderly and dynamic forces of yin and yang came into being. emperor-king n. ΚΠ 1539 J. Gough tr. J. Le Maire Abbreuyacyon Gen. Councellys sig. C.vii Phyllyp the fyrste of that name, Emperour kynge of Fraunce [Fr. roy de France]. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands III. 60 The emperor-king passed through Piedmont in triumph. 2009 Slavic Rev. 68 665 Snyder's account does not mention the Sixtus Affair, through which Emperor-King Charles's efforts at a separate peace were exposed. C2. † emperor clerk n. derogatory Obsolete a high-ranking ecclesiastical dignitary. ΘΚΠ society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > clerical superior > [noun] bishopc893 prelate?c1225 prince of priests?c1225 high priestc1400 pontificala1450 emperor clerkc1475 gentleman untrial1486 dignitya1525 Aaron1565 hierarch1574 presul1577 monsignor1579 church governor1588 pontiff1589 archbishop1600 monseigneur1601 monsignor1611 sheikh1613 protomist1619 Mar1622 hyperochality1637 protarch1654 pontifex1655 prelatical1658 dignitary1672 hierophanta1676 Monsig.1698 ecclesiarch1781 arch-pontiff1790 Mgr1848 Msgr.1868 patriarch- c1475 (?c1400) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 437 Alle degrees of emperor clerkis. a1500 (?c1378) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 447 (MED) Of popis, ne of oþere emperour clerkis. emperor maker n. rare before 19th cent. a person who brings an emperor to power through the exercise of political influence; cf. kingmaker n. ΚΠ 1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. i. 18 Prouide that the raskallest sort be no Emperour-makers [L. interest ne imperatorem pessimi faciant]. 1805 Anti-Jacobin Rev. & Mag. Dec. 428 Infallible Pius [VII] protests he was happy A forced visit to make to invincible Nappy, But, it seems, this infallible Emperor-maker Had contriv'd to forget our achievement at Acre. 1897 J. B. Perkins France under Louis XV I. vi. 224 For a while he [sc. the Duc de Belle-Isle] had been before the eyes of all Europe; he had filled the great rôle of an emperor maker. 2007 China Econ. Rev. (Nexis) July The Dowager Empress—emperor maker and dynastic scourge—loomed as a tall shadow behind everything that happened to China. C3. In names of animals of a relatively large or brightly coloured kind. Cf. sense 3 and Phrases 1. [Frequently after scientific Latin imperator, specific name (see imperator n.).] emperor angelfish n. [after scientific Latin imperator, specific name (see emperor fish n.); compare note at emperor of Japan n.] an Indo-Pacific angelfish, Pomacanthus imperator (family Pomacanthidae), which has a striking colour pattern dominated by blue and yellow stripes; cf. emperor fish n. and emperor of Japan n. at Phrases 1. ΚΠ 1940 A. W. Herre Philippine Fish Tales xliv. 172 One of the largest and most gorgeous members of this group is the emperor angel-fish. 1990 D. Attenborough Trials of Life ii. 55 (caption) The emperor angel fish, above as a juvenile and below as an adult. 2010 New Yorker 2 Aug. 60/3 Among the pictures, Jack notices the one of the emperor angelfish, whose colors the Frenchman got all wrong. emperor bream n. originally Australian any of various perciform fishes of the genus Lethrinus or family Lethrinidae, found around tropical coasts and reefs mainly in the Indo-Pacific region; cf. sense 3a. ΚΠ 1916 Mem. Queensland Mus. 5 159 (heading) Family Lethrinidæ... The whiptail, ox-eye, and emperor breams. 1951 T. C. Roughley Fish & Fisheries Austral. (rev. ed.) 75 The best-known of the emperor breams is the sweet-lip or red-mouthed emperor. 2004 Aberdeen Evening Expr. (Nexis) 4 June 18 The tempting selection includes Emperor Bream—great for a barbecue. emperor butterfly n. = sense 3c. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Nymphalidae > subfamily Ithomiinae > genus Apatura > apatura iris (purple emperor) purple emperor1742 emperor of the woods?1749 high-flyer?1749 emperor1773 emperor of Morocco1788 emperor butterfly1822 1742 B. Wilkes Twelve New Designs Eng. Butterflies Pl. 6 (caption) The Purple Emperour Butterfly.] 1822 Pocket Mag. 9 318 After feeding, pampering, and carefully watching a fine caterpillar, in expectation of beholding it transform into an emperor butterfly, or a peacock moth, the disappointed speculist finds his care has been lavished on an impostor. 1996 Church Times 6 Sept. 7/1 When we were in New Zealand in their autumn..we saw Asclepias physocarpas in flower and attracting the Emperor butterfly. 2006 J. T. Costa Other Insect Societies xviii. 607 A handful of Apaturinae, a largely Old World family of fewer than 500 species, have gregarious larvae, notably the emperor butterflies of the genus Asterocampa. emperor dragonfly n. [after scientific Latin imperator, specific name ( W. E. Leach in Edinb. Encycl. (1815) IX. 137)] a large dragonfly of Eurasia and Africa, Anax imperator (family Aeshnidae), the abdomen of which is predominantly blue in the male and green in the female. ΚΠ 1937 C. Longfield Dragonflies of Brit. Isles 100 The Emperor Dragon-fly. Anax imperator... Chief Characters:—Very like an Aeshna, but the wing-veins are arranged differently. 1960 P. S. Corbet et al. Dragonflies ii. 16 Another of these [sc. our largest dragonflies], even more massive, is the magnificent Emperor Dragonfly, Anax imperator Leach. 2008 Daily Tel. 8 Apr. 5/1 (caption) Wild scenes:..an emperor dragonfly, red campion and a white-tailed eagle. emperor fish n. (a) = emperor angelfish n.; (b) = emperor bream n. [In sense (a) after German Kaiserfisch (1787 as †Kayserfisch : M. E. Bloch Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische II. 148); compare the scientific Latin specific name imperator (1787 in Chaetodon imperator , on the same page in Bloch's work). Compare emperor of Japan n.] ΘΚΠ the world > animals > fish > miscellaneous types > [noun] mudfish1502 sprat1552 frogfish1598 rockfish1605 yellowtaila1622 sleeper1668 picarel1688 hogfish1735 porkfish1735 sucker1753 zebrafish1771 yellowbelly1775 white steenbras1801 stone-toter1817 stargazer1842 warehou1848 baardman1853 goatfish1864 holostome1864 spot snapper1876 suck-fish1876 mademoiselle1882 queenfish1883 cigar-fish1884 emperor fish1884 rock beauty1885 oilfish1896 aholehole1897 berrugate1898 Photoblepharon1902 sweet-lip1934 rabbitfish1941 redbait1960 1884 tr. J. J. Rein Japan: Trav. & Res. i. vii. 193 None of them can compare with the proud angel-fish of the West Indies (Holacanthus ciliaris) or the Emperor-fish [Ger. Kaiserfisch] (H. imperator) of the Indian Ocean. 1896 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. V. 344 The splendidly-coloured emperor-fish (H[olacanthus] imperator)..ranges from the east coast of Africa to the Indian and Malayan seas. 1949 Oxf. Junior Encycl. II. 373/2 The best-known [Butterfly-fish] is the Emperor Fish of Indian seas, a very gaudy fish, with its yellow stripes crossing a blue or brown body, and blue and white markings on head and fins. 2012 National (Abu Dhabi) (Nexis) 14 Oct. The old centre is currently breeding hammour and subaiti fish to be released into the wild, having managed to do the same with emperor fish last year. emperor goose n. a large migratory Arctic goose, Chen canagica, found on coasts around the Bering Sea and having grey and white variegated plumage. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > [noun] > member of subfamily Anserinea (goose) > genus Anser > anser canagicus (emperor goose) emperor goose1869 1869 Trans. Chicago Acad. Sci. 1 296 Chloephaga canagica Bon... Emperor Goose. This magnificent bird abounds in profusion in the Kúsilvak Slough, or mouth of the Yukon, to the exclusion of all the other species. 1940 I. N. Gabrielson & S. G. Jewett Birds Oregon 129 The Emperor Geese usually arrive here as single birds mingling with other species or in small bands. 2000 Daily Tel. 3 Apr. 8/7 Most at risk would be the red-breasted goose, tundra bean goose, spoon-billed sandpiper and emperor goose. emperor moth n. a large grey-brown Eurasian moth, Saturnia pavonia (family Saturniidae), with eyespots on all four wings; (frequently with distinguishing word) any of various other large moths of the family Saturniidae; cf. sense 3b. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Saturniidae > saturnia pavonia minor or emperor-moth emperor1742 emperor moth1742 1742 B. Wilkes Twelve New Designs Eng. Butterflies Pl. 4 (caption) The Emperour Moth. 1819 D. B. Warden Statist., Polit. & Hist. Acct. U.S. II. xxv. 484 The brown corn skipper butterfly, (Papilio alcyus), and the corn emperor moth, (Phalæna io), unfold themselves in the crysalis state, in the leaves and blade of the Indian corn. 1966 C. Sweeney Scurrying Bush i. 17 Enormous bat-like emperor moths, with vivid, eyed roundels on the patterned forewings. 2006 J. T. Costa Other Insect Societies xvii. 536 A better-studied species is Imbrasia belina (Westwood), the anomalous emperor moth, the social caterpillar of which constitutes an important food source in Botswana and Zimbabwe. emperor penguin n. a penguin of the largest extant species, Aptenodytes forsteri, which lives in colonies around the coasts of Antarctica, migrating to communal nesting areas during the winter; cf. sense 3d. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > order Sphenisciformes or penguin > [noun] > member of genus Aptenodytes (emperor) king penguin1776 emperor1844 emperor penguin1844 1844 G. R. Gray List Specimens Birds Brit. Mus. III. 156 The Emperor Pinguin. Aptenodytes Forsteri, G. R. Gray, Ann. of Nat. Hist. 1844. 1905 R. F. Scott Voy. ‘Discovery’ I. iv. 148 A small colony of Emperor penguins in process of moulting exhibited the most dishevelled appearance. 1966 R. Silverberg Forgotten by Time 99 Only two of these [species of penguin] live in the Antarctic—the emperor penguin and the Adélie. 2003 New Yorker 3 Feb. 70/3 During the Antarctic winter, male emperor penguins incubate the eggs containing their offspring, huddling together on the ice to conserve body heat. emperor tamarin n. [after scientific Latin imperator, specific name (1907)] the tamarin Saguinus imperator, of the Amazonian basin, which has dark fur with a very long white moustache. ΚΠ 1936 E. G. Boulenger Apes & Monkeys vii. 195 Of the long-tusked marmosets, two of the most ornate are the ‘emperor’ and the ‘lion’.] 1949 Proc. U.S. National Mus. 98 412 Long-whiskered or emperor tamarins. White moustache extremely developed and extending to shoulders when laid back. 1987 Amer. Scientist 73 391/2 The author's detailed observations were limited to the Brown Capuchin, White-Fronted Capuchin, Squirrel Monkey, Emperor Tamarin, and Saddle-Backed Tamarin. 2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures II. 627/2 Emperor tamarin, Saguinus imperator. Distinctive white-mustached South American monkey named by Emil Goeldi in 1907. Derivatives ˈemperorless adj. [originally after German kaiserlos (1803 in the passage from Schiller's poem Der Graf von Habsburg translated in quot. 1856)] ΚΠ 1856 W. H. Woodbury New Method learning German Lang. (new ed.) xxxiv. 118 Ended..was the emperorless [Ger. kaiserlose], the terrible period, and there was a ruler..again upon earth. 1882 Athenæum 30 Dec. 879/2 The great-grand-nephew of the victor of Rossbach put an end..to the emperor-less period. 1984 D. Duane My Enemy, my Ally ii. 32 He had long been fascinated by the..three-house legislative-executive branch of this Emperorless Empire. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). emperorv. Brit. /ˈɛmp(ə)rə/, U.S. /ˈɛmp(ə)rər/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: emperor n. Etymology: < emperor n. rare. transitive. To rule over as or like an emperor; to exercise supreme power over. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > sole rule > rule over as monarch [verb (transitive)] > as emperor emperor1854 1854 Northern Tribune Dec. 416 Better that Austria and Prussia openly reinforce the Tzar, and Western Europe (however villainously emperored and governed) know its work. 1855 P. J. Bailey Mystic 109 Those once most virtuous angels..; seeking, at first, Their own names, to the tribes each emperor'd, To magnify, and so become their gods. 1989 Forbes 1 May 21/1 Following the Allies' victory in the Pacific, he [sc. General MacArthur] emperored post-war Japan for 6 years. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.?c1225v.1854
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emperorn.

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emperorv.