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impératrice

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Etymology and origin of the French word impératrice

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1482 Guillaume Flamang, Vie de saint Didier More words from the 15th century
Borrowed from
Latin imperatrix
Ultimate origin
Latin imperō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin parō
Italian parare
French parade
English parade
Spanish parar
English pare
Latin imperō
Latin imperātrīx
French impératrice
From the same root
Latin apparō ← parō
Latin disparō ← parō
Latin parābilis ← parō
Latin parātus ← parō
Latin praeparō ← parō
Latin reparō ← parō
Latin sēparō ← parō
Spanish parada ← parō
Latin imperābiliter ← imperō
Latin imperātor ← imperō
Latin imperitō ← imperō
Latin imperium ← imperō

Pronunciation

  • /ɛ̃.pe.ʁa.tʁis/[1]

Forms

impératrice f (plural impératrices, masculine empereur)[1] Old French empereriz and emperiere.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin imperātrīx (“she who commands, wife of the emperor”), the feminine of imperātor, from which empereur comes.[2][4][3] The Latin noun is formed on imperātum, the supine of imperō (“to command”), and is related to imperium, the source of empire.[5][4]

The learned word replaced the semi-popular Old French empereriz (about 1175, Benoît de Sainte-Maure) and its variant emperiere (about 1460, Villon).[2][4] Bloch and Wartburg observe that after this hesitation French chose the form closest to Latin.[3] Littré cites empereris from Villehardouin and empereis from Joinville.[6]

Cognate with Occitan emperairitz, Catalan emperatris, Spanish emperatriz and Italian imperatrice.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Impératrice is first recorded in 1482, in Guillaume Flamang's life of Saint Didier, as an adjective meaning “imperial”, a use that did not outlast the 15th century.[2][4] The noun, for the wife of an emperor, dates from 1527, in Macquereau's chronicle.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Under the First Empire impératrice-mère became a title (1810, Mme de Staël), and impératrice-régente was the title of the Empress Eugénie when she became regent in August 1870.[4] From 1766 (Voltaire) the word also names a woman who rules an empire in her own right, such as Catherine II of Russia.[4][5]

Figuratively it is used of a woman with a haughty, commanding manner (1853), as in prendre des airs d'impératrice.[5][4] In cooking, à l'impératrice described rich dishes, like à l'impériale.[4] Littré also records it as the name of an oblong variety of plum.[6]

Timeline

  • 1482 – Impératrice appears as an adjective, “imperial”.[2][4]
  • 1527 – First use as a noun, “wife of an emperor”.[2][4]
  • 1766 – Voltaire uses it of a woman ruling an empire.[4][5]
  • 1810 – Mme de Staël uses impératrice-mère.[4]
  • 1853 – The figurative sense “haughty woman” is recorded.[5]
  • 1870 – Impératrice-régente becomes the title of the Empress Eugénie.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The wife of an empereur, an empress.[7][2]
  2. A woman who rules an empire in her own right.[7][5]
  3. (figurative) A woman with a haughty, commanding manner: avec ses airs d'impératrice.[5][6]
  4. (dated) An oblong variety of plum.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
  3. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Impératrice.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/imp%C3%A9ratrice. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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