empire

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See also: Empire and empiré

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English empire, from Old French empire, empere, from Latin imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, order”). Doublet of empery and imperium.

Pronunciation[edit]

A map showing The First French Empire in 1810.

Noun[edit]

empire (plural empires)

  1. A political unit, typically having an extensive territory or comprising a number of territories or nations (especially one comprising one or more kingdoms) and ruled by a single supreme authority.
    the Russian empire
    • 2022 February 7, Charles Hugh Smith, How Empires Die‎[1]:
      States and empires fail when they are no longer the solution, they are the problem.
  2. A political unit ruled by an emperor or empress.
    The Empire of Vietnam was a short-lived client state of Japan governing Vietnam between March 11 and August 23, 1945.
  3. The group of states or other territories that owe allegiance to an imperial power (foreign to them), when distinguished from the native territory of that power; imperial possessions.
    • 2001 August 2, P. J. Marshall, The Cambridge Illustrated History of the British Empire, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 105:
      British people [...] continued to believe in empire. It was what gave Britain a unique role in the world, and in return Britain had drawn strength from its empire to enable it to survive two great wars that had wrecked so many of its competitors. Imperial management in the twentieth […]
    • 2021 April 13, Daniel Verdier, Democracy and International Trade: Britain, France, and the United States, 1860-1990, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 139:
      Since Britain imported mainly foodstuffs from its empire, no preferences could be granted to the colonies without Britain first imposing a tariff on foodstuffs imported from other countries.
  4. An expansive and powerful enterprise under the control of one person or group.
    the McDonald's fast food empire
    • 2002, Evelyn L. Damore, The Rattle and Hiss of the Tin Gods, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 111:
      “Revenues for Jackson's non-profit empire sky-rocketed from $4 million in 1997, to more than $14 million just two years later.”
    • 2009, Martin Short, The Rise of the Mafia, Kings Road Publishing, →ISBN:
      The Mafia never forgave Castro but Lansky had already laid the foundations of a mob gambling empire all over the Caribbean […]
  5. (Absolute) control, dominion, sway.
    • 1881, François Guizot, The History of Civilization from the Fall of the Roman Empire to the French Revolution..., page 122:
      The brutality, the unthinking, the unreflecting character of the barbarians were so great, that the new faith, the new feelings with which they had been inspired, exercised but a very slight empire over them.
    • 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 1:
      With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter.
    • 2010, Stefania Tutino, Empire of Souls: Robert Bellarmine and the Christian Commonwealth, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 270:
      […] could gain some political strength for the pope, but in so doing the pope would lose the uniqueness and supremacy of his empire over souls: […]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]


Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Further reading[edit]

Adjective[edit]

empire (not comparable)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of Empire.

Anagrams[edit]

Finnish[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈempire/, [ˈe̞mpire̞]
  • Rhymes: -empire
  • Syllabification(key): em‧pi‧re

Noun[edit]

empire

  1. (art) Short for empiretyyli (“Empire style”).

Declension[edit]

Inflection of empire (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation)
nominative empire empiret
genitive empiren empirejen
partitive empireä empirejä
illative empireen empireihin
singular plural
nominative empire empiret
accusative nom. empire empiret
gen. empiren
genitive empiren empirejen
empireinrare
partitive empireä empirejä
inessive empiressä empireissä
elative empirestä empireistä
illative empireen empireihin
adessive empirellä empireillä
ablative empireltä empireiltä
allative empirelle empireille
essive empirenä empireinä
translative empireksi empireiksi
instructive — empirein
abessive empirettä empireittä
comitative — empireineen
Possessive forms of empire (type nalle)
possessor singular plural
1st person empireni empiremme
2nd person empiresi empirenne
3rd person empirensä

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old French empire, from Latin imperium.

Noun[edit]

empire m (plural empires)

  1. empire
  2. influence, authority, dominion
    • 1640, Pierre Corneille, “Act 4, Scene 7”, in Horace:
      Quelle injustice aux Dieux, d'abandonner au femmes / Un empire si grand sur les plus belles âmes
      What injustice from the gods, to give up for women / Such great dominion over the most beautiful souls
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
  • Russian: ампи́р (ampír)

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

empire

  1. inflection of empirer:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Italian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Vulgar Latin *implīre, from Latin impleō.

Verb[edit]

empìre (first-person singular present émpio, first-person singular past historic empìi or (less common) empiéi, past participle empìto or (less common) empiùto, auxiliary avére) (transitive)

  1. (uncommon, literally) to fill [+ di (object) = with]
  2. (figuratively) to fill, to stuff [+ di (object) = with]
    empire di gioia ― to fill with joy
    empire la testa di qualcuno di chiacchiere ― to fill someone's head with chatter
  3. (archaic or literary) to satisfy, to satiate

Conjugation[edit]

    Conjugation of empìre (-ire; irregular) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)
infinitive empìre
auxiliary verb avére gerund empièndo
present participle empiènte past participle empìto, empiùto1
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present émpio émpi émpie empiàmo empìte émpiono
imperfect empìvo empìvi empìva empivàmo empivàte empìvano
past historic empìi, empiéi1 empìsti, empiésti1 empì, empié1 empìmmo, empiémmo1 empìste, empiéste1 empìrono, empiérono1
future empirò empirài empirà empirémo empiréte empirànno
conditional io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present empirèi empirésti empirèbbe, empirébbe empirémmo empiréste empirèbbero, empirébbero
subjunctive che io che tu che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa che noi che voi che loro, che essi/che esse
present émpia émpia émpia empiàmo empiàte émpiano
imperfect empìssi empìssi empìsse empìssimo empìste empìssero
imperative — tu Lei noi voi Loro
émpi émpia empiàmo empìte émpiano
negative imperative non empìre non émpia non empiàmo non empìte non émpiano

1Less common.

Synonyms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Old French empire, empere, from Latin imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, order”). Doublet of emperie.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ɛmˈpiːr(ə)/, /ɛmˈpɛːr(ə)/, /ˈɛmpiːr(ə)/, /am-/

Noun[edit]

empire

  1. Emperorship; the office, power or title of emperor.
  2. An empire; the domain of an emperor or empress.
  3. (rare) Total power or influence, especially when wielded by gods.
    • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎[2], published c. 1410, Apocalips 1:5-6, page 117v; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
      [⁊ of iheſu criſt] þat is a feiþful witneſſe .· þe firſte bigeten of deed men · ⁊ pꝛynce of kyngis of þe erþe / which louyde vs / ⁊ waiſchide vs fro oure ſynnes in his blood .· / ⁊ made vs a kyngdom / ⁊ pꝛeſtis to god ⁊ to his fadir / to hym be gloꝛie ⁊ empire .· in to woꝛldis of woꝛldis
      [of Jesus Christ,] / who is a reliable witness, the firstborn of the dead, and sovereign over the rulers of the Earth, who loved us, cleansed us from our sins with his blood, / and made us a kingdom / and priests of God and his father. To him are glory and power for many ages.
  4. (rare) A region of control; a field or zone.
  5. (rare, Christianity) God's kingdom in the heavens.

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

Old French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin imperium, inperium (“command, control, dominion, sovereignty, a dominion, empire”), from imperare, inperare (“to command, order”), from in (“in, on”) + parare (“to make ready, order”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /emˈpi.rə/, (late) /amˈpi.rə/

Noun[edit]

empire m (oblique plural empires, nominative singular empires, nominative plural empire)

  1. empire

Descendants[edit]

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