empress

empress · noun¹

1. Latin · derived fromimperatrix
2. Old French · derived fromempereriz
3. Middle English · inherited fromemperice
4. English todayempress

From Middle English emperice, emperesse, from Anglo-Norman and Old French empereriz, from Latin imperatrix, equivalent to emperor + -ess. Doublet of imperatrix. Compare modern French impératrice.

empress · verb²

1. Old French · derived fromempresser
2. Anglo-Norman · derived fromenpresser“to press, to imprint”
3. Middle English · inherited fromempresse
4. English todayempress

From Middle English empresse, from Anglo-Norman enpresser (“to press, to imprint”), from Old French empresser. Attested from the 15th or late 14th century.

Empress · noun, proper noun³

From empress. The village was named in 1913 for Queen Victoria, who was Empress of India.

Words from the same roots