Etymologically
Log in

empire

Etymology and origin of the French word empire

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis
Borrowed from
Latin imperium
Ultimate origin
Latin (imperō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin imperium
French empire

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɑ̃.piʁ/[1]

Forms

empire m (plural empires)[1] Old French empirie (about 1050) and emperie (about 1120); empire from about 1100.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is an early borrowing, borrowed from Latin imperium (“command; supreme power; empire”), derived from imperō (“to command”), the verb behind empereur.[2][3][5][6] Wiktionary treats it as inherited through Old French empire.[1] Littré notes that the spelling ⟨emperie⟩ is etymological and that the word was pronounced ⟨empeire⟩ or ⟨empire⟩.[7]

Cognate with Old Occitan emperi, Spanish imperio and Italian imperio.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) empirie names a state under the authority of an emperor.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

From the first half of the 12th century it also meant power or authority over something, especially the sovereign authority of a ruler; in the 12th century it could also mean an army or a gathering of vassals, as in the Chanson de Roland: semon les oz de tun empire.[2][7][8] Medieval writers played on empire “realm” and empire “worsening”, from empirer.[7]

At the end of the 16th century (Du Vair, about 1593) it came to mean any state or group of states under a central government.[3][2] By metonymy (1668, La Fontaine) it named a place where power is exercised, now literary: l'empire des morts, the underworld.[2][4] From the 17th century it also named a powerful state and its territory, whence pas pour un empire, not for anything in the world.[2] Figuratively it is the hold exercised by something, as l'empire de la mode or sous l'empire de la colère.[3][9] Applied to the regimes of Napoleon I and Napoleon III, Empire became the name of a furniture and decorative style.[9][10]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Empirie in the Vie de saint Alexis.[3]
  • c. 1100 – Empire in the Chanson de Roland.[4][7]
  • c. 1120 – Emperie “power, authority” in the Oxford Psalter.[3]
  • c. 1593 – Du Vair: any state with a central government.[3]
  • 1640 – Corneille: absolute domination over people and things.[4]
  • 1668 – La Fontaine: a place where power reigns.[4][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (literary) Absolute authority or domination: l'empire du monde.[9][3]
  2. Strong influence, hold: sous l'empire de la colère, avoir de l'empire sur soi-même, to have self-control.[9][1]
  3. The sovereign authority of an emperor.[9]
  4. An empire, a state or group of states under an emperor or a central power: l'Empire romain, l'Empire ottoman.[9][1]
  5. Le Premier, le Second Empire: the regimes of Napoleon I and Napoleon III, style Empire, their decorative style.[9]
  6. Pas pour un empire: not for anything in the world.[9][2]
  • empereur
  • impératrice
  • impérial
  • Latin imperium

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 587b
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Empire.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/empire. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·