empire

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈem.paɪə/, US /ˈem.paɪ.ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English empire,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French empire (“rule, authority, kingdom”), earlier emperie,^[2][4][5] from Latin imperium (“command, authority, supreme power, dominion”),^[2][3] from imperāre “to command”,^[2][6] from in- “in” and parāre “to order, prepare”.^[2][3] It is related to emperor and imperial.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

An extensive territory under one ruler: 1297 in the OED;^[7] before 1338 in Barnhart, as empyre, and 1340 as empire in the Ayenbite of Inwyt;^[3] the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^[2] Supreme political power, especially an emperor's, is about 1325.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English it was mostly used of the Roman Empire.^[2] Figurative paramount influence or sway is also from about 1325.^[7] Etymonline notes it is not limited by origin to a territory ruled by an emperor, though it is used that way.^[2] The Empire meant the Holy Roman Empire from the 1670s and the British Empire from 1772.^[2][7] As the name of a style, especially dresses with a high waistline, it is by 1860, after the neoclassical fashion of Napoleon I's reign (1804–1815).^[2][6] A large group of businesses under one owner is a 20th-century colloquial sense.^[5]

Timeline

• 1297 – an extensive territory under one ruler.^[7]
• c. 1325 – supreme power; paramount influence.^[7]
• 1670s – the Holy Roman Empire.^[2]
• 1772 – the British Empire.^[2][7]
• 1834 – Empire State (New York).^[2]
• 1852 – the Empire style.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A group of states or territories under a single supreme ruler or government, such as an emperor.
2. A large business or group of businesses controlled by one person or company.
3. Supreme power or dominion.

Adjective

1. (usually Empire) Of a neoclassical style of dress, furniture or decoration fashionable in France under Napoleon I, especially a dress with a high waist.

Word family

• interempire
• American Empire
• British Empire
• Byzantine Empire
• Celestial Empire
• Central African Empire
• Chinese Empire
• Eastern Roman Empire

Related words

• emperor
• empress
• imperator
• imperial
• imperium
• imperative
• prepare

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press