Empery
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An empire; the status or dominion of an emperor. archaic
"Let’s cheere our ſouldiers to incounter him, That grieuous image of ingratitude: That fiery thirſter after Soueraigntie: And burne him in the fury of that flame, That none can quench but blood and Empery."
- 2 Absolute power or authority. archaic
"Because he filched away Thine own bright flower, the glory of plastic fire, And gifted mortals with it, — such a sin It doth behoove he expiate to the gods, Learning to accept the empery of Zeus, And leave off his old trick of loving man."
Example
More examples"Let’s cheere our ſouldiers to incounter him, That grieuous image of ingratitude: That fiery thirſter after Soueraigntie: And burne him in the fury of that flame, That none can quench but blood and Empery."
Etymology
From Middle English emperie, from Old French emperie, 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 imperium and empire.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.