empire English · revision 4581

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1297|origins=la imperium}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈem.paɪə/, US /ˈem.paɪ.ɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|empire]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|fro|empire|t=rule, authority, kingdom]], earlier emperie,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|imperium|t=command, authority, supreme power, dominion]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from imperāre “to command”,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from in- “in” and parāre “to order, prepare”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[emperor]] and [[imperial]].^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An extensive territory under one ruler: 1297 in the OED;^(OED 1989) before 1338 in Barnhart, as empyre, and 1340 as empire in the Ayenbite of Inwyt;^(Barnhart 1988) the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Supreme political power, especially an emperor's, is about 1325.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Middle English it was mostly used of the Roman Empire.^(Etymonline) Figurative paramount influence or sway is also from about 1325.^(OED 1989) Etymonline notes it is not limited by origin to a territory ruled by an emperor, though it is used that way.^(Etymonline) ''The Empire'' meant the Holy Roman Empire from the 1670s and the British Empire from 1772.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) 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).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) A large group of businesses under one owner is a 20th-century colloquial sense.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1297 – an extensive territory under one ruler.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1325 – supreme power; paramount influence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1670s – the Holy Roman Empire.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1772 – the British Empire.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1834 – Empire State (New York).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1852 – the Empire style.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A group of states or territories under a single supreme ruler or [[government]], such as an [[emperor]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A large business or group of businesses controlled by one person or company.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Supreme power or [[dominion]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(usually Empire)'' Of a [[neoclassical]] style of dress, furniture or decoration fashionable in France under Napoleon I, especially a dress with a high waist.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==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==

+ {{reflist}}