emperice
Latin edit
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /emˈpeː.ri.ke/, [ɛmˈpeːrɪkɛ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /emˈpe.ri.t͡ʃe/, [emˈpɛːrit͡ʃe]
Noun edit
empērice m
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman empereiz, contraction of empereriz, from Latin imperatrix; equivalent to emperour + -esse. Final -e is apparently by analogy with other feminine nouns, as the borrowing was early enough for the Middle English gender system to survive.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
emperice (plural emperesses)
- An empress; a female ruler of an empire.
- late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Franklin's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, line 1045-1048:
- ‘Your blisful suster, Lucina the shene,
That of the see is chief goddesse and quene,
Though Neptunus have deitee in the see,
Yet emperesse aboven him is she:’ [...]- ‘Your blissful sister, Lucina the bright,
Who of the sea is chief goddess and queen,
Though Neptune have godly dominion in the sea,
Yet empress above him is she:’ [...]
- ‘Your blissful sister, Lucina the bright,
- late 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Franklin's Tale, The Canterbury Tales, line 1045-1048:
- The wife or partner of an empire's ruler.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)
Descendants edit
References edit
- “emperesse, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-24.
- “emperice”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Old French edit
Noun edit
emperice oblique singular, f (oblique plural emperices, nominative singular emperice, nominative plural emperices)
- Late Anglo-Norman form of empereriz