kaiser

K5A1I1S1E1R1
UK/ˈkaɪzə(ɹ)/US/ˈkaɪzɚ/

noun

An emperor of a German-speaking country, particularly the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the Austrian Empire/Austria-Hungary (1806–1918), or the German Empire (1871–1918) — often specifically Wilhelm II.

Meanings

kaiser1

nounkaiser (plural kaisers)

plural kaisers

  1. alternativeAlternative form of Kaiser.

Kaiser2

nounKaiser (plural Kaisers)

plural Kaisers · alternative kaiser · alternative obsolete keasar · alternative obsolete kesar

  1. An emperor of a German-speaking country, particularly the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the Austrian Empire/Austria-Hungary (1806–1918), or the German Empire (1871–1918) — often specifically Wilhelm II.
  2. broadlyAny emperor or autocrat, or one who attempts to be one.

    And Black Ivo is a veritable Kaiser.

    1915, T. P.'s Weekly - Volume 26, page 444
    3 more examples

    […] that President Poincare, the first servant of France, is still Louis XIV, the former War-Lord, the Kaiser of France […]

    1916, The Provocation of France, page 147

    Senator Sherman vigorously assailed the Shantung agreement, declaring that it would make the Mikado a veritable Kaiser of the Far East and alienate the sympathies of the 400,000,000 Chinese – from the people of the United States.

    1919, Far Eastern Political Science Review - Volume 1, page 49

    […] which, from the banking point of view, the National City Bank is a veritable kaiser.

    1929, Through the Leaves, page 489
proper noun

alternative kaiser · alternative obsolete keasar · alternative obsolete kesar

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. LatinCaesar
  2. Proto-Germanic*kaisaraz
  3. Proto-West Germanic*kaisar
  4. Old High Germankeisar“emperor”
  5. Middle Englishkayser
  6. EnglishKaiser

Inherited from Middle English kayser, from Old High German keisar (“emperor”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaisar, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz, from Latin Caesar. The native Old English descendant of that Proto-Germanic word was cāser (“emperor”), but the shape of Middle English kayser (“emperor”) (versus the expected *caser, *coser) suggests it was borrowed from another Germanic language rather than inherited, and the modern English spelling and sense seem to be modified after modern German rather than a direct continuation of Middle English. Compare tsar, which was borrowed from Slavic. Doublet of Caesar and tsar.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic قَيْصَر
  • قَيْصَر (qayṣar)German Emperor — see also emperor
Bulgarian ка́йзер
  • ка́йзер (kájzer)German Emperor — see also emperor
Catalan kàiser
  • kàiserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Chinese Mandarin 凱撒 /凯撒, 德意志皇帝
  • 凱撒 /凯撒 (kǎisā, kǎisà)German Emperor — see also emperor
  • 德意志皇帝 (Déyìzhì huángdì)German Emperor — see also emperor
Czech císař
  • císařGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Danish kejser
  • kejserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Dutch keizer
  • keizerGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Estonian keiser
  • keiserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Finnish keisari
  • keisariGerman Emperor — see also emperor
French kaiser, empereur
  • kaiserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
  • empereurGerman Emperor — see also emperor
German Kaiser, Kaiserin
  • KaiserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
  • KaiserinGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Greek κάιζερ
  • κάιζερ (káizer)German Emperor — see also emperor
Hindi काइज़र, क़ैसर
  • काइज़र (kāizar)German Emperor — see also emperor
  • क़ैसर (qaisar)German Emperor — see also emperor
Hungarian császár
  • császárGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Icelandic keisari
  • keisariGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Italian kaiser
  • kaiserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Japanese カイザー
  • カイザー (kaizā)German Emperor — see also emperor
Korean 카이저
  • 카이저 (kaijeo)German Emperor — see also emperor
Latvian ķeizars
  • ķeizarsGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Lithuanian kaizeris
  • kaizerisGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Norwegian Bokmål keiser
  • keiserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Polish kajzer
  • kajzerGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Portuguese cáiser, kaiser
  • cáiserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
  • kaiserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Romanian kaiser
  • kaiserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Russian ка́йзер, ка́йзер
  • ка́йзер (kájzer)German Emperor — see also emperor
  • ка́йзер (kájzɛr)German Emperor — see also emperor
Slovak cisár
  • cisárGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Spanish káiser
  • káiserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Swedish kejsare
  • kejsareGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Tagalog Kayser
  • KayserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Thai ไคเซอร์
  • ไคเซอร์German Emperor — see also emperor
Turkish kayser
  • kayserGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Ukrainian ка́йзер, ці́сар
  • ка́йзер (kájzer)German Emperor — see also emperor
  • ці́сар (císar)German Emperor — see also emperor
Urdu قَیْصَر
  • قَیْصَرGerman Emperor — see also emperor
Yiddish קייסער
  • קייסער (keyser)German Emperor — see also emperor

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with kaiser

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Caesar (Latinate)Caesar (Latinate)

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

kaiser. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kaiser

MLA

“kaiser.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kaiser. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kaiser,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kaiser.

Source: kaiser on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.