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imperator

Etymology and origin of the Latin word imperator

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (parō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ɪm.pɛˈraː.tɔr][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [im.peˈraː.tor][1]

Forms

imperātor m (genitive imperātōris, feminine imperātrīx); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from imperō “to command” with the agent suffix -tor.[2][1][3] The TLL compares Oscan embratur (“commander”).[3] Ennius and Lucretius have the archaic ⟨induperātor⟩, and an inscription spells it ⟨inpeirātor⟩.[4][2] Varro derives it from the ⟨imperium⟩ of the people.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of a person in charge and of a commander.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant one who gives orders, a leader, master, as in Plautus, Cicero and Sallust, and in Pliny the ruler of a people.[2][6] It meant a commanding officer, general, and in Cicero Iuppiter Imperātor was a cult title.[2] It was a title of honour given to a victorious general by acclamation of his troops or by the senate, as in Cicero.[2] Under the Empire it became a title of the emperors, and in Nepos the Roman emperor himself.[2] Döderlein explains that prīmus is first in time, prīnceps first to act, whom others follow.[7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant emperor.[8] British Medieval Latin also used it of a military commander and of Christ.[9] It survives in Italian imperatore, Spanish emperador and Romanian împărat, and through Old French empereor it gave English emperor in the early 13th century.[1][10]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a commander.[2][5]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius has induperātor.[4][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a victorious general's title.[2][5]
  • early 13th century – English emperor is recorded.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A commander, leader, master; a ruler.[2]
  2. A general.[2]
  3. A title of a victorious general.[2]
  4. The Roman emperor.[2]

Word family

  • modimperātor
  • eximperātor

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 j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Imperator.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/imperator. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·